Everyone dared not move rashly. Hong Qisheng had just been decapitated before their very eyes, his head still rolling to a stop by Meng Han's feet. Feng Sanchu looked at his Senior Brother in terror, not daring to make a sound.
Meng Han's expression was also extremely grave. He moved his lips and said with a voice transmission, "Foundation Establishment Stage!" Everyone's faces changed drastically, their hearts leaping into their throats.
The Liao siblings trembled like chaff in the wind. Everyone knew in their hearts that they would very likely lose their lives here. Cold sweat dripped down Zhao Chun's back, and her own thunderous heartbeat echoed in her ears.
Suddenly, her vision went dark, as if she had been plunged into endless blackness.
"Senior Brother Meng!"
It was Feng Sanchu's voice! Meng Han replied, "Don't act rashly. We should be inside some kind of imprisoning magic tool!"
After speaking, he paused, then added, "If you're here, say something." Zhao Chun answered, "Zhao Chun is here!" Then, she heard the Liao siblings respond.
A moment later, a woman's trembling, sobbing voice rang out, "I'm Hong Qian. My mother and I are both here!" So they were targeting the Hong Family, otherwise they wouldn't have brought those two along.
Since that's the case, if they could negotiate properly, there was still a chance to survive! Zhao Chun furrowed her brows, only hoping that the other party would be wary of the True Spirit Sect and be willing to listen to what they had to say.
Feng Sanchu offered some comfort to the Hong mother and daughter, then reassured everyone, "Senior Brother Meng is an official disciple of the True Spirit Sect and is on the verge of breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
That senior, for Senior Brother's sake and for the face of our True Spirit Sect, will surely not dare to make things too difficult for us." She didn't hear Meng Han reply, only his heavy breathing. Zhao Chun secretly felt that something was wrong, and the unease in her heart grew.
After an unknown amount of time, a spark of light appeared in the darkness. A candle flame flickered. Her nose twitched, and she smelled a metallic, rusty scent.
Everyone found themselves in a dark room! Only two white candles were lit around them. The candlesticks had accumulated a two-finger-thick layer of wax.
Her feet stepped into a shallow puddle. Lowering her head, she used the dim candlelight to see clearly that it was a nearly viscous pool of blood plasma. Such a scene would leave even an ordinary cultivator short of breath, to say nothing of the Hong mother and daughter.
The two screamed, hiding their faces in their hands, and shifted their feet again and again, but simply couldn't find a clean spot. Zhao Chun and the others had no time to look after them. They all held their breath and focused their minds, ready to act at the slightest hint of trouble.
"Relax, everyone."
No one appeared, only an aged voice filled the dark room. This made them even less willing to relax. They circulated their spiritual qi to their dantian, assuming a state of utmost defense.
The person seemed amused, letting out a short, sharp cackle and mocking, "So scared, are you? A few little pigs." Meng Han clenched his fists, bowed forward, and said, "I do not know which senior is present, but we are disciples of the Hidden Valley of the True Spirit Sect.
Senior…"
"This Daoist naturally knows you are from the True Spirit Sect. But what does that have to do with this Daoist?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Chun and the others' hearts sank to rock bottom.
"As for this Daoist? I have no status. Perhaps I did in the past, but it's no longer important now."
The voice carried a hint of loneliness, then shifted into a strange delight.
"Let this Daoist see... such fine little dolls. There's even a pair of siblings of the same attribute!"
Liao Xiaoyi shrank behind her brother, her face filled with horror.
"Don't be afraid. No one can escape."
He comforted them with gentle words. Seeing the two of them embracing and crying, he said with great interest, "Let this Daoist have the appetizer first!" A square opening spun open in the ceiling of the dark room.
Light shone in from it. The Liao siblings suddenly screamed as their bodies floated upwards, gradually being pulled out through the small opening. After the two disappeared, the small opening closed again.
Zhao Chun felt a chill run through her entire body. The fate of those two was unknown, but even if they were lucky enough to survive, their end would not be a good one. Feng Sanchu was also wide-eyed.
He clutched his hands together, forcing himself not to cry out, his face already deathly pale. Only Meng Han remained relatively calm. His eyes were closed and his brows were tightly furrowed as he carefully pondered a way to escape.
Time flew by during the stalemate. Although Zhao Chun didn't dare to close her eyes, maintaining such a concentrated state was too exhausting. When she came to, only Meng Han was still awake; the others had already fallen asleep.
"You can close your eyes for a while longer, conserve your energy."
But Zhao Chun could not accept his kind offer. She urged, "Senior Brother, you should rest. I've already had some sleep."
He was the pillar of this group. If he fell, all hope would truly be lost. Meng Han leaned against the wall.
Seeing her relatively calm and self-possessed, he said with surprise, "You little girl, you're quite a bit braver than the others!" Was Zhao Chun afraid? To be honest, she was indeed afraid.
Who wouldn't be afraid of death? She had only lived in this world for less than eleven years. For the first ten, she had been muddle-headed.
It was only after stepping onto the Immortal Path that she made friends and formed some attachments. She had broken through to the second level of Qi Refinement at such a young age. Although she wasn't considered a top-tier genius, Zhao Chun was confident she could go higher and further.
To die here, she was unwilling!
"Being afraid is useless. I don't want to die, so I don't want to be afraid either."
Meng Han tilted his head back and pursed his lips.
"No wonder Junior Brother thinks highly of you."
After a long silence, she heard him say, "A limitless future..." followed by a light chuckle, "...on the premise that you can survive." Zhao Chun was speechless. She sat quietly and began to circulate her spiritual qi for Tuna breathing.
The crackling of the candle flame was the only sound in the dark room. Without this sound, the extreme silence would drive a person mad. The small opening on the ceiling spun open again.
The blinding white light left everyone in the dark room with nowhere to hide. The voice now held a sense of satiation, yet it sent an inexplicable chill down one's spine.
"Two with Three-Element Spirit Roots, quite the main course. It seems even the Heavens favor this Daoist, wanting this Daoist to receive such great fortune!"
The ones with Three-Element Spirit Roots were Zhao Chun and Meng Han. The two exchanged a look. A strong pulling force came from their bodies, yanking them out through the small opening.
Zhao Chun only felt a bizarre play of light before her eyes. Her mind was dazed for a few breaths until her feet touched the ground and her vision cleared. This was a simply furnished stone cave.
A dusty cattail hassock was placed in the middle, and a row of cabinets and shelves were toppled in disarray. A yellow-browed old Daoist stood before them. He was hunched over, his dark yellow skin clinging tightly to his bones.
His eye sockets were dark, making him look like a skeleton covered in skin. Zhao Chun noticed several familiar small balls buried in the dust and dirt under the shelf and shot a look at Meng Han.
"You are a Everglow Sect disciple?"
Meng Han had also recognized the origin of the small balls and asked. The yellow-browed old Daoist laughed sinisterly.
"You're quite knowledgeable. It's just that this Daoist left the sect many years ago and can no longer be considered a member of the Everglow Sect."
"You are Yue Zuan!"
Meng Han said with certainty. Zhao Chun saw his face turn deathly pale in an instant, a rare look of terror appearing on it.
"The abandoned disciple of the Everglow Sect."
The world mostly used this title to refer to Yue Zuan, because he had stolen the sect's secret techniques, harmed his fellow disciples, and associated with evil cultivators. He had his cultivation crippled by the sect and was exiled into a small world. And now, he was standing in the Drifting Clouds World, standing before the two of them…
"It was I who abandoned the Everglow Sect! Not them who abandoned me!"
Yue Zuan straightened up. He was only as tall as Zhao Chun and showed signs of being a spent lamp, its oil exhausted. His turbid pupils were sunken in his two hollow eye sockets.
He moved closer to the two of them.
"Forget it. You're both going to die anyway, there's no point in talking more with you two."
"What about the siblings you captured earlier?"
Yue Zuan tilted his head towards Zhao Chun, who had asked the question, and said slowly, "Little girl, why do you care about so much?" He raised his hand and placed it on Zhao Chun's shoulder. Even through her clothes, Zhao Chun felt a wave of yin-cold qi.
"Come, this Daoist will take you to see them, to keep your senior brother and sister company!"
His grip was surprisingly strong. He gripped Zhao Chun and walked towards the inner chamber. Two crisp cracks sounded from her shoulder blade under his hand—it had been crushed!
Meng Han swung his fist to attack but was blocked by a wave of Yue Zuan's sleeve. Then, from somewhere, Yue Zuan summoned a bundle of golden light ropes, which bound Meng Han's hands and feet tightly.
"I can't take your life just yet, so stay put! After this Daoist takes care of this little girl, I'll find a good place for you!"
Half of Zhao Chun's body was already submerged in excruciating pain. She couldn't move anything below her broken shoulder and could only be dragged inside by Yue Zuan.
(End of this chapter)