Chapter 72: Discussion on Forbidden Land
Dark, cold, and damp. The air was filled with a distinct scent of earth and rock, mingled with a faint hint of blood. Chu Yun's consciousness, emerging from an endless daze, slowly struggled to the surface. He felt as if his body had been completely torn apart, then haphazardly pieced back together. Every bone, every meridian, groaned in agony under the strain. He tried to move his fingers. "Hiss—" Such a simple movement immediately triggered the wound in his chest, sending a piercing pain radiating through his body. He couldn't help but gasp, and a fine layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead. "Don't move," a cold voice, yet tinged with undisguised concern, echoed from beside him. Chu Yun turned his head with difficulty and saw Li Ge sitting cross-legged beside him. Her face was still as pale as paper, and her breath was still weak, but her clear eyes had regained their former clarity and composure. Beside Li Ge, a small campfire emanated a warm orange glow, dispelling the chilling darkness and coldness that filled the air. On the other side of the fire, Mo Li lowered her head, repairing her now completely broken and tattered mechanical armour with an expression of utter concentration. Her movements were slow and laborious, her once nimble hands trembling slightly from exhaustion. Yet, her expression was remarkably serious and dedicated, as if what she was repairing wasn't just a pile of cold scrap metal, but her closest, inseparable comrade. "Where...are we?" Chu Yun surveyed the completely unfamiliar surroundings, his voice hoarse, each word rasping as if sandpaper were being hammered through his throat. This place seemed to be a vast, naturally formed cave. Countless bizarre stalactites hung from the ceiling, and from time to time, cold water dripped from the rock tips, creating a crisp, "tick, tick" sound. Growing on the surrounding stone walls were mosses of unknown origin that emitted a faint fluorescent light, adding a touch of dreamlike, eerie beauty to this isolated space. "I don't know," Li Ge shook her head, a hint of fatigue in her voice. "That woman, after throwing us here, completely disappeared." She paused, then continued, "I checked. This cave has only one exit, but it's blocked by a massive boulder weighing ten thousand pounds. Given our current situation...
Dark, cold, and damp.
The air was filled with a unique smell of earth and rock mixed with a hint of blood.
Chu Yun's consciousness slowly struggled to the surface from his endless drowsiness. He felt as if his body had been completely torn apart and then haphazardly pieced back together. Every inch of his bones, every meridian, groaned in agony from the weight of the burden.
He tried to move his fingers.
"hiss--"
Just such a simple action immediately affected the injury in his chest, and a heart-wrenching pain instantly spread throughout his body. He couldn't help but gasp, and a fine layer of cold sweat immediately seeped out of his forehead.
"Don't move."
A cold voice, yet one that carried a hint of undisguised concern, rang out from beside him.
Chu Yun turned his head with difficulty and saw Li Ge sitting cross-legged beside him. Her face was still as pale as paper, and her breath was still weak, but her clear eyes had regained their former clarity and calmness.
Next to Li Ge, a small bonfire was emitting a warm orange light, dispelling the chilling darkness and coldness in the space.
On the other side of the campfire, Mo Li lowered her head, repairing her completely broken and tattered mechanical armour with an expression of utter concentration. Her movements were slow and laborious, and her once incredibly nimble hands trembled slightly from exhaustion. Yet, her expression was unusually serious and dedicated. It was as if what she was repairing wasn't a pile of cold scrap metal, but her closest, inseparable comrade.
"Where are we...?"
Chu Yun looked at this completely unfamiliar environment, his voice was very hoarse, and every word sounded like it was repeatedly polished in his throat with sandpaper.
This place seemed to be a massive, naturally formed cave. Countless bizarre stalactites hung from the ceiling, and from time to time, cold water dripped from the rock tips, creating a crisp "tick, tick" sound. Growing on the surrounding stone walls were mosses of unknown origin that glowed faintly, adding a dreamlike, eerie beauty to this isolated space.
"I don't know." Li Ge shook his head, a hint of fatigue in his voice, "That woman, after throwing us here, completely disappeared."
She paused and continued, "I checked. This cave has only one exit, but it's blocked by a huge rock weighing tens of thousands of pounds. In our current state, it's impossible to open it. So..."
She didn't say anything else, but Chu Yun already understood what she meant.
They were trapped.
Although he had temporarily escaped Xuan Chenzi's death-like pursuit, he was now trapped in an even more hopeless situation, a natural prison where neither heaven nor earth could respond.
Chu Yun was silent.
He slowly closed his eyes, and everything that had happened in the past few days emerged uncontrollably in his mind.
The blood-red light rising from Jichuan City, Elder Zhang's frantic and twisted face, Xuan Chenzi's condescending gaze filled with contempt...
There was also that mysterious and powerful demon woman, Leng Mei, whose identity was unclear. She had a playful and teasing smile, and the meaningful words she left behind before she left.
——"If you want to survive, go where they least expect you to go."
The most unexpected place?
Where is the most unexpected place in Tianshi Mansion?
Chu Yun's brain, in the midst of severe pain, began to work rapidly. He reorganized all the clues he had obtained from the underworld to the human world in his mind.
Before the judge died, he used the judge's pen stained with soul blood to write the word "Heaven" which was full of warnings and hints on the blank book of life and death.
In Elder Zhang's mysterious secret letter made of "Xuanguan Jade" which has not yet been opened, there is a vague mention of the "forbidden area".
Furthermore, when the three pieces of the Evil-Suppressing Seal were put together, they produced an increasingly strong and unstable resonance. That resonance seemed to be guiding them in a specific direction...
All the clues, all the doubts, all the unsolved mysteries, at this moment, are like countless rushing streams, and finally, they converge into the same bottomless vortex.
——Tianshi Mansion, forbidden area!
When these four words suddenly appeared in his mind, Chu Yun's heart skipped a beat!
Suddenly, he understood the true meaning of Leng Mei's words!
The most dangerous place is the safest place!
For the entire cultivation world, the current Tianshi Mansion is like a den of dragons and tigers, a forbidden zone that they absolutely cannot and dare not approach. Everyone will think that they will desperately escape, the farther the better.
But what if they did the opposite?
What if they took the initiative and sneaked into the heart of Tianshi Mansion, where everyone thought they would never dare to set foot?
On the contrary, that would be the most unexpected way to break the deadlock and escape the pursuit!
This is an extremely crazy and almost suicidal plan.
However, Chu Yun saw a faint, yet real, glimmer of hope in this crazy plan.
"I know where we should go."
He slowly opened his eyes. His voice was still hoarse, but it was filled with an unprecedented, unquestionable determination.
"What?"
Mo Li, who was repairing his arm armor, and Li Ge, who was regulating his breathing, both raised their heads at the same time and looked at him in confusion.
"Tianshi Mansion."
Chu Yun looked at them and said those three words word by word.
"Forbidden area."
The cave was plunged into a deathly silence, with only the occasional crackling sound from the burning bonfire.
"Are you...crazy?"
After a while, Mo Li looked at Chu Yun as if he was a fool and said in disbelief.
"Do you know what you're talking about? In our current state, let alone sneaking into the forbidden area of the Tianshi Mansion, I'm afraid we can't even get close to the mountain gate of the Tianshi Mansion. We will be chopped into meat sauce by those disciples patrolling the mountain!"
"This isn't about breaking the deadlock," she said firmly, "This is about committing suicide!"
"I agree." Li Ge also rarely agreed with Mo Li's opinion. Her brows were tightly furrowed. "This plan is too risky. No, it can't even be called a 'plan'. This is pure self-destruction."
"I know."
Chu Yun looked at their eyes filled with worry and opposition and smiled bitterly. He knew how crazy and dangerous this plan was. He knew better than anyone what the words "Tianshi Mansion" meant to them right now.
But they had no choice.
"Then where else can we go?" he asked. "We are now wanted by the entire cultivation world. How long can we hide? Three days? Five days? Or a month?"
"The day will come when we'll be found. When that happens, we'll still have to face Xuan Chenzi's unmatched 'Dragnet of Heaven and Earth', and it will still be... a dead end."
His words made Li Ge and Mo Li fall into silence.
They couldn't refute it.
Yes, sitting still and waiting to die is death. Taking the initiative to attack, although there is a high risk of death, at least there is still a faint hope of "survival".
"But..." Mo Li was still a little hesitant. "The forbidden area of the Tianshi Mansion is said to be the most heavily guarded place in the entire Tianshi Mansion. Not only are there countless ancient restrictions and mechanisms inside, but there are also the most powerful elders in the history of the Tianshi Mansion, who take turns guarding it. How...how can we possibly get in?"
"We have this."
Chu Yun slowly took out the token made of "Xuanguan Jade" that he had obtained from Elder Zhang from his arms.
"I suspect this letter contains more than just clues to Xuan Chenzi's conspiracy." "It could very well be a 'key' that allows us to sneak into the forbidden area unnoticed."
"After all, Elder Zhang also needs a 'back door' that is unknown to the public and can freely enter and exit the forbidden area, right?"
Li Ge and Mo Li looked at the mysterious aura emanating from the firelight, and a strange light flashed in their eyes. They had to admit that Chu Yun's speculation was very likely.
"Okay." Li Ge nodded slowly after a moment of silence. She was a decisive person, and she knew that at the critical moment of life and death, any hesitation or hesitation would be fatal.
"I'll make a bet with you."
"I'll go too." Mo Li gritted her teeth and made up her mind. Although she was afraid of death, she was even more afraid of hiding like this, in a cowardly way, in endless waiting and fear, facing the death that had already been predetermined.
She would rather die heroically on the charge than rot quietly in this dark corner.
Chu Yun looked at his two companions, whose faces were solemn but whose eyes had rekindled the flames of "hope" and "fighting spirit", and an indescribable warmth surged in his heart.
He knew that he was not fighting alone.
He subconsciously touched the worn Zhilan sachet he had always kept close to his chest. He seemed to sense the silent support and encouragement of the woman, as gentle as water, from the faint, familiar fragrance.
Zhilan, wait for me. Wait until I uncover all the dark secrets, wait until I clear the name of the world and return my true innocence. I will definitely come back to find you.
"Okay then."
He took a deep breath, completely suppressing all distracting thoughts and weaknesses in his heart. His eyes became more determined and sharp than ever before.
"Then let's start preparing now."
He placed the mysterious "Xuanguan Jade" token and the three pieces of the evil-suppressing seal on the ground between the three people.
"Our first step is to open this 'relic' from Elder Zhang and see what kind of 'surprise' he left for us."
The atmosphere within the cave grew tense once again. The three men sat around the campfire, their gazes fixed on the token that would determine their future, their hearts filled with anxiety and anticipation.
Chu Yun stretched out his hand and slowly injected a trace of the little Taiyi Qi left in his body into the talisman.
However, just when his vital energy was about to touch the talisman!
“Buzz!”
The three fragments of the Evil-Suppressing Seal that were originally lying quietly on the ground suddenly burst into a strong resonance full of rejection and warning!
They are actually... stopping Chu Yun!
Then, three fragments simultaneously floated up, vibrating slightly in the air, and the light they emitted unexpectedly and simultaneously pointed towards the man who was busy repairing the mechanical arm armor...
Mo Li.
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