Secret Room
Ruan Qingyu carefully followed the stone steps downwards with her divine sense, and clearly sensed the viscous smell of blood, as well as the chilling yet complex fire within it.
The spiritual energy that should have been comforting had become murky in this place. She had spent a year there in her previous life, experiencing this unsettling atmosphere.
Without withdrawing her divine sense, Ruan Qingyu repeatedly confirmed that there was no dangerous aura or other people present before walking down the stone steps.
Her heart was beating faster and faster. Ruan Qingyu felt a mix of excitement and fear, but that fear was burned away by the raging fire in her chest.
Instead, an impatient desire for destruction took hold, and the pace of destruction quickened.
The sound of dripping water from the ground grew clearer, and Ruan Qingyu understood perfectly what it meant. Clearly, there was a place Chen Tian had set up to collect blood, only this time the recipient wasn't herself.
The stone steps gradually transformed into a gentle stone slab floor, and on the rock walls, ever-burning lamps continued to burn, yet they could not dispel the chill in the air.
The stench of blood, long gone, returned to her nostrils. Ruan Qingyu's eyes darkened, and she picked up the key and slammed it against the black and red door.
A clear 'click' sound rang out, and a series of mechanical turning sounds made Ruan Qingyu's breathing become even shallower. If Wutong could not still sense her presence, she would almost think that Ruan Qingyu was not alive.
The black and red door, under the key's influence, began to change from its center, and slowly opened, accompanied by undulating red bloodstains.
Ruan Qingyu's gaze swept over the familiar iron cages, the various alchemy furnaces scattered in different corners, and even some spiritual herbs, and her heart calmed down completely.
Seeing this, Ruan Qingyu stepped inside. Having escaped once before, she knew that she had to go further inside to find where she was being held.
Despite Ruan Qingyu's repeated attempts to conceal her aura, there seemed to be some kind of sensor beneath her feet, constantly emitting a blood-red light. The light dissipated extremely quickly, and Ruan Qingyu, who was constantly looking around and directly in front of her, did not immediately notice it.
Just as she was wondering, a slight clicking sound came from the ground. Ruan Qingyu frowned and looked around but saw no unusual movement.
With a wave of his hand, the Phoenix Divine Fire was about to illuminate this world.
"Boom boom—" As if giving her no chance at all, in the blink of an eye, Ruan Qingyu was imprisoned in a very familiar iron cage.
A somewhat short figure suddenly appeared, wearing the dark red disciple robes of Chen Tianshan, an outfit she had seen far too many times before.
The newcomer was short, so one had to stand on tiptoe to see Ruan Qingyu's face. Unfortunately, Ruan Qingyu had concealed her identity when she arrived, so only her eyes, which were covered by a black veil, could be seen.
"Strange, who are you? How did you manage to use Junior Brother Zhang's key?" The short man stroked his chin and paced back and forth outside the iron cage.
For a long while, Ruan Qingyu remained silent, letting the short man guess her intentions. She remembered this man; in her past life, he had followed Zhang Zitao and many of the ideas came from him.
She was also a disciple highly valued by Chen Tian, and she left a deep impression on Ruan Qingyu as well. In fact, her face almost became a new nightmare.
Thinking of this, Ruan Qingyu raised her head slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "I came here to save people at someone's request."
Zhang Qi chuckled and suddenly leaned close to the iron cage: "Is that so? It seems that person is going to be disappointed. But who are you here to save? Perhaps I can help you see if he is still alive."
Ruan Qingyu remained silent, her head bowed. Seeing her like this, Zhang Qi said with great interest, "It seems that Junior Brother Zhang is gone. But you probably didn't expect that this key is wrong, since he won't need it when he comes back."
In the darkness, Ruan Qingyu's lips curled into a smile. It seemed Zhang Zitao had died too soon. Looking at the iron cage, Ruan Qingyu reached out and touched it, instantly draining the spiritual energy that had been clinging to her hand.
Seeing her movements, Zhang Qi chuckled: "Want to get out? This cage is made of extremely cold black iron, specially designed to absorb the spiritual energy of cultivators. I was just thinking the last one was no good, and here you are, delivered to me today."
Seeing that Ruan Qingyu didn't even glance at him, Zhang Qi didn't care at all. He stroked his chin and said, "I noticed it just now. You should be a good fire-attribute cultivator. Tsk tsk, you're really good material."
At this moment, Ruan Qingyu was like a piece of good meat delivered to his door, a rare and precious ingredient waiting to be cooked.
After trying it out and finding that the cage was roughly as she had imagined, Ruan Qingyu withdrew her hand. A faint blue light flashed at her waist, and a strange zither melody began to play.
Zhang Qi instinctively took two steps back and quickly covered his ears with his hands. However, the feeling of drowsiness kept rising, eroding his senses.
"What's that sound?" Zhang Qi exclaimed in alarm, his spiritual energy surging as he desperately tried to block out the extremely penetrating sound of the zither. Suddenly, something flashed through his mind, and he looked at Ruan Qingyu, who was still hanging her head in the cage.
He reached out and grabbed the railing, trying to grab Ruan Qingyu's sleeve, but the other woman quickly stepped back to avoid his movement. He was immediately annoyed: "Was it you?"
Thinking of this, Zhang Qi reached out and unleashed several golden, sharp energies, transforming them into sword energy that hurtled towards Ruan Qingyu's face. Having just entered the cage, Ruan Qingyu still had ample spiritual energy in her dantian, and without fear, she summoned a wall of fire to block the sword energy.
The sound of the zither resonated throughout the area. A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Qi not only failed to harm Ruan Qingyu, but also accelerated the depletion of his spiritual energy, gradually falling into a deep sleep under the hypnosis of the zither music.
After Zhang Qi collapsed to the ground and remained silent for a long time, Ruan Qingyu summoned the Phoenix Divine Fire, enveloping it in her hands.
He placed both hands on the bars of the iron cage and pulled them open with a sudden burst of force. The next moment, with a few 'poof' sounds, the bars melted completely.
Ruan Qingyu confirmed that the opening was just big enough for her to pass through before stepping out of the iron cage. As she turned around, she casually lit the iron cage made of extremely cold black iron.
Flames continued to burn behind them. Ruan Qingyu placed her left hand on Zhang Qi's head, her eyes glowing red. The next moment, Zhang Qi suddenly opened his eyes, but only the whites of his eyes were visible.
Wutong's half-figure floated in the air, quietly watching Ruan Qingyu use the Soul Searching Technique on Zhang Qi on the ground.
He learned about the soul-searching technique from her unusual attitude towards Zhang Zitao during the day. After asking her about it, she simply asked him for the method.
Perhaps because it was his first time using this soul-searching technique, Zhang Qi woke up abruptly after experiencing intense pain. As he foamed at the mouth and blood trickled from the corner of his lips, Wu Tong looked closer and realized he was already dead.
Miss Ruan's methods are surprisingly ruthless, which doesn't quite match her appearance. Wutong lowered her eyes but didn't say anything. There are far more terrifying and ruthless methods in the cultivation world than there are now.
After a moment's thought, Wutong's fingertips twitched slightly, and a clear and soothing melody rose from the strings. Compared to the piece used for hypnosis earlier, this melody felt like a gentle spring breeze, as if one were bathed in the morning air.
With her ears and eyes cleared and her mind refreshed, Ruan Qingyu, who had been staring intently at Zhang Qi's pained face, suddenly released her grip. At that moment, all the information Zhang Qi knew entered her mind.
However, the brutal soul-searching method completely destroyed the other party's soul. If it weren't for the fact that he had the cultivation level of a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator keeping him alive, he probably wouldn't have survived until all his memories were cleared.
The bloodshot in her eyes faded, and Ruan Qingyu exhaled a heavy breath. With a wave of her right hand, Zhang Qi's corpse was set ablaze in the blink of an eye, turning to ashes in the blink of an eye.
Standing up briskly, Ruan Qingyu said calmly, "I underestimated this place. Once we find the person, we must leave as soon as possible."
After saying that, Ruan Qingyu continued walking inside.
Her heartbeat became clear again, but Ruan Qingyu was no longer as excited as before. In the blink of an eye, she entered the innermost part of the cage, the largest and most familiar one, where a person was lying.
The interior was so dark that it was impossible to tell whether the person was alive or dead.
As the snap of fingers echoed in the room, a golden-red flame illuminated the space. The flame slowly rose into the air, stopping after reaching a certain height.
Ruan Qingyu took a closer look and quickly recognized the unfortunate man inside. If Ruan Qingyu remembered Zhang Zitao because he was an enemy, she remembered this man because he was a rare kind of approachable person.
Lan Ci, a Foundation Establishment cultivator who went to the Ruan family to recruit new disciples, now looks weak, but he is actually a Golden Core cultivator in the early stage.
However, his cultivation level looked strange, and his aura was quite unpleasant. Ruan Qingyu frowned and stepped forward to take a closer look.
Then Wutong behind him spoke: "This person should have been at the late Foundation Establishment stage, but it seems that he was forcibly raised to the early Golden Core stage by some secret method. Now that the Golden Core is gone, he will soon regress to the Foundation Establishment stage."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingyu was somewhat surprised. Lan Ci's cultivation level wasn't something she had cultivated herself? Recalling her past life, the other party indeed didn't have a Golden Core stage cultivation level at this time.
But things have changed now, and she is not sure whether the other person died earlier than her in their previous life, or whether they were forced to grow up too fast because she was gone.
Perhaps because she hadn't seen light for so long, Lan Ci felt a stinging sensation under her eyes inside the cage. Her eyelids trembled slightly, and she opened her eyes in an instant.
He caught a glimpse of someone observing him from outside the cage. The person wore a black cloak, making it impossible to discern their identity. Lan Ci's eyes lit up slightly. Could it be someone from the sect?
Seeing the other person remain silent, the light in Lan Ci's eyes gradually faded. It seemed she had been overthinking things. She couldn't help but cough, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Is it going to be another flesh-cutting or blood-drawing? That demon is already at the Nascent Soul stage, what does he need me for?" Lan Ci's words were not very polite, but because his body was too weak, he spoke in a weak voice.
Hearing his words, Ruan Qingyu frowned even more and stepped forward anxiously: "When did Chen Tian reach the Nascent Soul stage?"
I still remember that just a month ago I was only at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, how come I've already reached the Nascent Soul realm at this point in time?
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