Twenty-four: Flowing Water Like Emerald Green - Part One
After they finished speaking, led by Zhui Lian, the two of them wandered around the mountains and forests several times before finally finding the mountain they were looking for.
From a distance, the mountain appears lush and green, but in reality, it only has a thin layer of soil. Now, as spring approaches, a few blades of grass have sprouted, adding a touch of green. Nestled between dense forests and high peaks, it's actually an extension of the higher mountains, constantly shrouded in the shadows of the surrounding mountains and forests. Unless someone specifically seeks it out, even a casual passerby would never notice it. Now, as midday approaches, a few rays of sunlight finally fall upon this large pile of rocks.
“Let’s go to the top of the mountain first,” Zhui Lian said, leading Ming Jin to jump onto the rocky mountain. Ming Jin carefully made her way to a patch of grass that looked no different from the surroundings. “Sister Cao Xiu’s original body was here. It sprouted and grew into a winding, elongated form in the cracks of this rocky mountain. But because of an array at the bottom of the mountain, the rocks shook and the cracks opened, causing her original body to fall down. In addition, the array keeps activating, damaging her original body. It’s probably not going to hold on much longer.”
"Where is she?" Mingjin listened carefully to Zhuilian's words, but she still couldn't find the spirit she needed to save.
“It’s right down here,” Zhui Lian said righteously, seemingly unaware of Ming Jin’s limited understanding as a human being.
"This is going to be difficult." Mingjin felt dizzy upon hearing this, not only because she had never heard of or seen such a situation before.
Do I have to split the mountain open myself to find that thin root?
Split the mountain in two?
Mingjin looked at the desolate mountain, which didn't seem like a place where people often came, and began to consider the feasibility of the plan.
The feasibility is naturally very low.
Mingjin abandoned the idea.
"Let's go down and take a look. Since the formation is set up down here, there must be a way in."
"good."
After coming down from the mountain, the two split up and began searching the mountainside. Although there was not much vegetation on the mountain, there were many vines near the ground. Mingjin had only walked a few steps along the mountain when his clothes were snagged by tree branches several times.
"I found it."
Mingjin, who was still close to Ci, suddenly heard Zhuilian's voice, responded, and quickly went over.
"It's really not easy to find this place."
When they arrived, Zhuilian had already lifted a thick layer of large-leaved vines that were blocking the outside, revealing the dark tunnel leading into the mountain behind them.
Is this really the place?
Mingjin cast a fire spell and studied the nearby tunnel structure, unable to help but feel suspicious.
"What's wrong?" Zhui Lian was puzzled by Ming Jin's words.
"It's nothing, I just think this tunnel is pretty strange."
“Now that the formation has stopped, if we had come when the formation was activated, the whole mountain would have felt warm to the touch, and in some places it would have been hot to the touch.” As she spoke, Zhui Lian unconsciously rubbed her hands together.
Before anyone could decide whether to go in directly, the rocks in front of them suddenly began to tremble slightly, causing the vines hanging below to visibly sway.
"The formation has been activated again," Zhui Lian said through gritted teeth. "This is bad."
These words put Mingjin under immense pressure, because although she sensed the danger of the heat, she had no idea about the formation. How was she supposed to break it now?
"What should we do?" Zhui Lian asked Ming Jin.
"Let me think about it. Do you know how long this will last?"
“I don’t know how you people calculate time,” Zhui Lian said helplessly and worriedly. “How are we going to get in? I’m so worried that Sister Cao Xiu’s friend won’t be able to be saved when the formation goes off this time.”
“I still have to go in,” Mingjin thought, counting on his fingers. “Never mind, the formation must have been set up. It must have been entered through that only mountain path. The fact that it has such great power shows that the formation’s owner is very powerful, but he doesn’t follow the right path and is doing evil deeds in this desolate wilderness. I can’t ignore it no matter what. I have to go in and take a look.”
After a quick assessment, Ming Jin realized that his strength was no match for the master of this formation. Helping spirits was not a cultivator's proper duty, and in order to use their power wisely, Pei Xuanzhen did not allow the cultivators on the mountain to go out and cause trouble without good reason, so he could not ask the elders for help.
So he cast a spell to send a message to Pang Ming for help.
"I want to go in too."
“It’s so hot and scorching inside. Even though you’re a plant spirit, you’ll get burned if you go in,” Mingjin said, looking at Zhuilian after finishing the spell. “You can wait for me outside…”
“I’m aquatic creature, so I can hold out a little longer. Anyway, I can’t let you go in alone. I asked you for help; how can I let you risk your life by yourself?”
As she spoke, Zhui Lian grabbed Ming Jin's right hand with both hands, looking as if she was being dragged inside with Ming Jin.
"Oh well."
Ming Jin quickly checked her pouch, placing the pills and magical artifacts she was carrying in the most easily accessible spot. She left a signal at the door so that Pang Ming wouldn't be unable to find the place when he came to help.
"It's so dark."
Zhui Lian went in sideways to take a look, then used magic to bring out two lotus lamps, giving one to Ming Jin.
It must be pitch black inside. Even before their fingertips touched the stone wall, they felt a surge of heat, startling Mingjin and Zhuilian who exchanged a glance before withdrawing their hands. "Can we still find any trace of that monster?"
"Yes, but it's very faint."
Zhui Lian stretched out her hand, and a golden-white light appeared from her palm, flying towards the mountain path on the left.
The lanterns were white-petaled, so the light they emitted resembled clear sunlight, allowing Mingjin to more easily observe his surroundings. Unexpectedly and unusually, Mingjin found the mountain path exceptionally clean.
Using the word "neat" to describe this desolate wilderness is truly bizarre, but there were no spiderwebs along the way, no unidentified winged creatures flying around, and not even any fallen soil or pebbles. So it certainly wasn't formed naturally. This mountain seemed like a single, solid rock, and then one day, a force came here, removed a piece of rock, leaving behind a tunnel.
When Mingjin was a child, he went to the mine in Kongyun Mountain with Ming Shiyu, and later went a few times with Chen Du. Because the road was carved out by hand, the gravel and dirt were not properly cleaned. As the tunnel was dug deeper, it connected to a natural cave, and after walking a few steps inside, one would get covered in spider webs.
It seems to be a vengeful spirit. Its appearance is quite similar to that of Youran City in some places; perhaps it's a vengeful spirit that migrated from Youran City and has set up a new hideout here. However, we still can't determine the opponent's level or their numbers.
Thinking of this, Mingjin couldn't help but turn back.
The two of them didn't block the entrance, but now they can't see any light from outside.
"What's wrong?" Zhui Lian's sorrow was different from Ming Jin's, but it was clearly greater than hers.
“It’s nothing,” Mingjin patted Zhuilian’s hand. “The mountain doesn’t look very big, but I didn’t expect this road to be so long.”
As we were talking, we came to a fork in the road.
The craftsmanship in tunnel construction is exceptional; at least Mingjin has never seen two roads divided so evenly.
"Wait a moment."
Just like before, the white light reappeared on Zhui Lian's palm.
While pondering what kind of evil spirit her opponent was, Mingjin glanced at the two paths. Lost in thought, she didn't notice anything abruptly hanging on her head when she reached the second path.
"Ouch!" The memory of being attacked by spider webs when he was a child came rushing back. Mingjin quickly swung his arm and pulled the unknown thing off his head and threw it on the ground.
Just then, Zhui Lian finished finding the way and saw Ming Jin suddenly take a big step back on the target road. She quickly caught up to check the situation.
"What's wrong?" The voice was exceptionally clear in the cave. Zhui Lian, who was already on edge, turned around immediately, trembling, upon hearing Ming Jin's voice. "What happened?"
"It's nothing, something just fell down, probably a spider web," Mingjin waved his hand to indicate that it wasn't a problem. "Did you find anything?"
“The traces are even fainter, almost imperceptible. I don’t know how she is. I feel the environment around here is even drier and hotter, and I can hardly breathe. She’s been here for so long…” Zhui Lian involuntarily grabbed her throat, then cast a spell, summoning a water-colored lotus flower that swirled around her. When she turned around, her gaze fell on Ming Jin, and she asked curiously, “Don’t you feel anything?”
"I feel the heat here is about the same as at the cave entrance. I'll go first, and then I'll set up a formation for you."
“It seems like we’ve been walking for a long time,” Zhui Lian began to fear, “even though we haven’t encountered any trouble…”
The two walked and talked. Mingjin cast a water spell that flew around Zhuilian, and the moment the water appeared, Zhuilian felt her breathing become much easier. Mingjin pulled Zhuilian forward, and she used wood magic to conjure a small twig, which she then stretched along the stone wall. After walking a few steps, she took the twig back and smelled a burnt odor.
"Look ahead."
Following Zhui Lian's voice, Ming Jin saw the bright spot that was originally following Zhui Lian fly away. He discovered that after the fire spell crossed a line, the light no longer shone on the stone wall, but dispersed.
The two points entered a larger space.
There's a cave ahead.
"Why haven't we found her yet?" Zhui Lian murmured worriedly. "She shouldn't be in such a deep place."
As she spoke, Zhui Lian cast another spell.
"What's wrong?" Mingjin stood at the end of the tunnel, trying his best to see the inside of the cave.
“We can’t detect any traces,” Zhui Lian sighed deeply. “Could it be that my magic power was also used up here? Let’s retreat first. Maybe we took the wrong turn at the fork in the road. Or we can come back when Sister Cao Xiu is feeling better.”
"Wait a moment."
Zhui Lian pulled Ming Jin to walk backwards, but Ming Jin's strength was clearly beyond Zhui Lian's expectations, because with a little effort from Ming Jin, she herself was pulled forwards instead.
Neither of them crossed the boundary; they stared at the cave.
There is a red light at the very center of the semicircular space.
"I sensed a ghostly aura. This is the magic of a malevolent spirit."
While speaking, Mingjin sent another message to Pang Ming.
It seemed to be a lit red candle, and although it emitted only a small amount of light, it illuminated most of the cave ceiling with a dark red glow. The cave was also unusually well-preserved; under the candlelight, the ceiling was so smooth and flawless that even the shadows were perfectly aligned.
There was no wind in the cave, and the red light shone steadily. Standing at a distance, it was impossible to see if there were any other magical artifacts or symbols around the red dot.
"I thought this road had been pretty smooth so far, but it turns out the real show was here."
Ming Jin extended the small branch in his hand, passing through a seemingly invisible barrier between the tunnel and the cave.
Without uttering a sound, the two watched as the branch burned to charcoal and turned into powder and fragments that fell into the air the moment it passed through the tunnel.
Their eyes were still fixed on the branch, but just as the charred part fell, a gust of wind suddenly swept up in front of them, carrying them and the branch into the cave.
A layer of red light veiled their vision. Ming Jin was swept in first, and as half of his body entered, he reacted to the scorching heat and dryness of the cave. He quickly summoned mountain magic around himself. Unable to counter the swirling wind in the cave, Ming Jin then amplified the effect of water magic, turning the water flow into a sphere around Zhui Lian.
The ground beneath their feet was still hard stone, but it was covered with a thick layer of fine dust.
Was it dust? Or crushed stones? Or something else? Mingjin wasn't sure, because when she and Zhuilian retreated, they found that the original tunnel had been sealed off.
It's a one-way street; once you're in, you can't leave.
Perhaps someone else broke in before them and was burned to ashes, now lying at Mingjin's feet.
"This is going to be difficult."
Inside the cave, even Mingjin's muttering voice sounded exceptionally deep, echoing endlessly in the dome.
“It’s all my fault. It was originally just a matter between us spirits,” Zhui Lian’s voice began to tremble. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into this.”
“Now it’s a feud between the evil spirits and the cultivators,” Ming Jin said, not taking Zhui Lian’s words to heart, but carefully observing the surrounding environment. “Don’t dwell on what happened before, we need to find a way to escape now.”
As soon as the words were spoken, the red dot standing in the center of the cave floor suddenly trembled, and then all the red light in the cave trembled to one side. However, the shadows of the firelight were as warm as flowing water, gently passing over the shadows of the two of them.
The next moment, the path of the fire stream was swept away by the blazing flames emanating from the red dot. Silent and still, carrying a silent pressure, it attempted to restore everything to its original state, not allowing any outsider to intrude.
The flames, transitioning from red to blue, underwent a dazzling transformation in Mingjin's eyes before rushing towards her. Mingjin reached out to set up a magic array, but there wasn't enough time. Fortunately, just as the array was complete, a thin stream of water reached her mountain magic barrier first.
Perhaps it was just to buy Mingjin a moment, no more, but her magic array was definitely completed through this.
However, Mingjin was immediately covered in a cold sweat.
She didn't have time to turn her whole body; she simply turned her neck and looked with her eyes toward Zhuilian behind her.
Fire is merciless, coming from all directions.
Fire is invisible. Although Mingjin's magic blocked the fire's path, it bypassed the only obstacle from Mingjin and wrapped itself around Zhuilian, who was using her magic to buy time for Mingjin.
The fire was clear, like water, burning brightly without obstructing the view or even causing eye strain. So Mingjin stared wide-eyed as the fire engulfed Zhui Lian.
Fire was cruel, threatening to kill both of them, but Mingjin had no intention of letting it succeed, and used all her strength to unleash her water magic once more.
A thin stream of water reached Zhui Lian's side along the path cleared by the wind.
Water couldn't save Zhuilian. A wisp of flame, and Zhuilian's entire body vanished.
Before Mingjin's shouts reached Zhuilian's ears, a faintly glowing bead fell into Mingjin's water magic and returned to Mingjin's side along the path torn open by the wind.
"Chasing the Lotus!"
A lotus seed cannot respond.
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