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墨書 Inktalez
Suddenly, a terrified scream echoed from below, startling Elder Huang, who was standing on the Cloud Ladder. Looking down, he saw a young man in black pointing into the distance, his face pale and his teeth chattering, unable to utter a word.
As the torch was raised high, everyone's faces changed instantly.
In the distance, where the black-clad figures had just been fighting, something had surrounded the area at some point. Corpses lay scattered on the ground, and faint rustling sounds could be heard as something seemed to be gnawing at the bodies.
One of the black-clad men, with better eyesight, carefully discerned what was happening in the torchlight. He suddenly took several steps back in panic and exclaimed, "Oh no, it's Scorpions..."
Scorpions? Elder Huang also saw it at that moment and quickly instructed someone to throw a torch over. Sure enough, under the firelight, countless Scorpions crawled over the fallen corpses. Moreover, attracted by the smell of blood, an uncountable number of Scorpions were emerging from what appeared to be an impenetrable stone wall, joining this feast that had fallen from above.
The seemingly calm Underground Palace was not so peaceful after all.
Everyone stared blankly at this scene when suddenly a timid black-clad man collapsed to his knees and began to cry out loud, "Brother, I wanted to go out and carry you back, but now there isn't even a complete corpse left..."
Originally, these Clan Guards had some familial ties due to their shared bloodlines; his cries stirred feelings of unease in everyone. The horror combined with despair put each person under mental torment as they anxiously hoped for a way to escape.
However, there was still no movement from above.
Suddenly, the man who had just been crying let out a howl like thunder from a clear sky, causing everyone's hair to stand on end. Elder Huang was about to reprimand him for being overly dramatic when he focused his gaze and saw that several Scorpions had silently crawled onto the kneeling man's body. Their reddish-brown bodies glowed eerily in the firelight as their stingers sank deep into the man's leg.
Since scorpion venom primarily affects the nervous system, the man screamed in agony. In no time at all, his face turned blue and he began foaming at the mouth; it was clear he was not going to survive. Alarmed, Elder Huang's expression changed drastically as he ordered everyone to quickly move him away; saving lives was paramount. At that moment, other black-clad men also looked up and noticed Scorpions beginning to crawl out from nearby crevices, evidently considering them as prey for their feast...
Hearing the screams from below made those above uneasy. Nangong Nuo's subordinates loudly questioned what was happening down there. When they learned about the poisonous Scorpions, their faces turned pale with fear.
Anriyan commanded Cong Fei to remove his pack and retrieve a pouch from above. Cong Fei recognized that it contained the Scorpion King from earlier and was surprised it would be useful here.
After Anriyan opened the pouch and used a secret medicine to awaken the Scorpion King, he placed some items inside before tightening the pouch's opening and throwing it towards the hole. It landed accurately at the entrance just as those below heard the command and caught it.
They carefully opened the casing, releasing the drowsy Scorpion King, who had been deprived of its stinger but still retained its formidable presence. It shook itself awake and began to move around inside.
The appearance of the Scorpion King brought an immediate silence to the entire cave, as if a leader had come to inspect.
Cong Fei was attentively listening for subtle sounds while tapping on the stone slab. Finally, he detected a clue when he struck one of the slabs; from the sound, he concluded it was hollow. He nodded at Mei Shuang, who realized there was a door and couldn't help but feel delighted.
Nangong Nuo was most concerned about how to deal with the troublesome Soulbinding Grass and reclaim his treasure. Otherwise, even if they managed to escape, leaving without the treasure would be in vain.
At that moment, he looked at Anriyan with hope but didn’t dare to urge him, wishing he could come up with a solution for Anriyan.
Anriyan certainly understood that Nangong Nuo's primary concern was his greed. In reality, he was more worried about the safety of those below. If they didn’t resolve the issue with the Soulbinding Grass, those people would be in grave danger after staying too long in the Underground Palace.
Meanwhile, Cong Fei had already started working with Nangong Nuo's team to pry open the stone slab. Despite their combined efforts, the slab remained immovable as if it were rooted in place, causing them to sweat profusely in frustration.
After some discussion, they decided to smash the slab instead. To their surprise, although their powerful strikes left their hands numb, only a few pure white dots appeared on the surface of the stone slab. However, the vibrations from their blows resonated throughout the Underground Palace, causing a slight tremor beneath their feet.
Everyone was astonished; they hadn’t expected the slab to be so indestructible. It seemed this path was blocked, and they would have to find another way forward. Yet ahead lay the Soulbinding Grass, which was as deadly as flowers blooming at a ghostly threshold—touching it meant certain death. Especially when they had struck the slab heavily just now, it seemed to have startled the Soulbinding Grass into a frenzy; it began to sway violently as if caught in a storm. In an instant, its range of movement expanded dramatically. The nearest Soulbinding Grass brushed perilously close to the face of a man in black at the front, startling him into a cold sweat.
Unexpectedly, this backfired; not only did they fail to open a passage, but their situation became even more perilous. They could only press their backs against the stone wall, and some quietly blamed Mei Shuang for her poor suggestion.
The situation was extremely urgent, and Anriyan could only think deeply without any sign of coming up with a solution. Nangong Nuo felt increasingly anxious.
Mei Shuang remained confident that her idea was correct. She took another careful look at the stone slab and suddenly exclaimed with delight, "Cong Fei, take a look! Aren't these slabs similar to those outside when we first entered the cave?"
Cong Fei remembered that there were faint patterns in the middle of the slabs that were hard to notice unless examined closely. Now, after being struck with great force, it indeed appeared so.
He nodded and looked up at Mei Shuang with curiosity and asked, "I see... Are you suggesting?"
Mei Shuang nodded, "That's right, there must be a mechanism controlling this, and the most likely place for the control mechanism is that statue."
The previously disheartened group was suddenly uplifted by Mei Shuang's analysis. They looked at the statue, only to find it surrounded by piles of gold, silver, and jewels, barely revealing its head.
Mei Shuang examined the statue closely and suddenly pointed at its eyes, "Look, aren't those eyes looking in this direction?"
Everyone looked over, and sure enough, the eyes seemed to be gazing this way. But how could those eyes serve as a switch?
"Founding Ancestor must know that if someone brings the treasure up here, it will surely disturb these Soulbinding Grass. If one wants to escape, they must give up the treasure. That's why when we hid here, we saw this path to survival indicated by Founding Ancestor. It seems Founding Ancestor is kind-hearted and does not wish to eradicate us completely; he still wants to give us a way out," Mei Shuang said.
After speaking, she ordered Cong Fei to draw an arrow and shoot one at each of Founding Ancestor's eyes with equal force, aiming to hit simultaneously.
Cong Fei did not hesitate; after releasing the two arrows, they struck Founding Ancestor Statue's eyes but bounced back as if hitting a hard ball.
After being touched, it seemed something within Founding Ancestor stirred, making a clattering sound. Then the stone slab behind them suddenly activated, retracting slightly and sliding upwards until it vanished. Only then did everyone see that the slab was actually a foot thick; no wonder it was indestructible.
Once the slab opened, everyone had to admit Mei Shuang was indeed impressive.
The pressure finally eased a bit; even Anriyan, who had been deep in thought, felt considerably relieved by this sudden discovery.
With the entrance now open, darkness loomed inside as cold winds blew in, bringing a chilling sensation that raised goosebumps. They decided that Cong Fei and two men in black would go in first to scout ahead. Hearing there was a path forward invigorated those inside the Underground Palace, who eagerly hoped to eliminate the Soulbinding Grass above so they could come up quickly.
Seeing that Anriyan was still hesitating, Nangong Nuo couldn't hold back any longer and said impatiently, "Why not use the first method again to remove these things?"
Anriyan shot him a glance, his tone clearly displeased. "The first time we used the potion to temporarily numb them; it was merely luck. In this world, everything has its balance or conflict. These treasures have been absorbing the energy of heaven and earth for so long that the Soulbinding Grass likely thrives on this. Just look at how they are wildly writhing; they won't let go easily. How could those potions possibly subdue them?"
Upon hearing that Anriyan also seemed at a loss for solutions, Nangong Nuo grew anxious. They had treasures they couldn't access and their subordinates trapped inside the Underground Palace. Were they really going to remain stuck like this and waste all their efforts?
"I just thought of several methods, but none seem reliable. It is said that where venomous snakes appear, there must be an antidote within seven steps. We still need to see if there are any natural enemies of the Soulbinding Grass nearby," Anriyan said, a slight sheen of sweat visible on his brow.
Seeing that Anriyan had pondered for so long only to arrive at such an unreliable conclusion left Nangong Nuo and the others greatly disappointed. He gazed at the situation before him for a moment and instructed his people to take action.
Anriyan and the others were startled; before they could intervene, Nangong Nuo's subordinates swiftly threw out their sharp, crescent-shaped weapons. The edges were serrated, cutting through anything they touched. Like lightning, they whirled through the flying Soulbinding Grass, severing them cleanly, with wisps of white smoke rising from the cut ends. As if sensing something, the other Soulbinding Grass that had been fluttering around suddenly stopped moving.
Nangong Nuo was overjoyed at this sight, unable to hide his satisfaction. What seemed formidable was merely a minor threat; he had truly overestimated them.
Just as he was about to launch a second round of attacks, Anriyan had already sensed the danger and urgently called for everyone to retreat into the cave.
The others snapped back to reality and jumped into the cave in haste. Just as they did so, the previously immobilized Soulbinding Grass seemed to have eyes and reached out toward them in unison. The black-clad man who had just thrown his weapon was caught off guard and was instantly swept away with a scream, surrounded by countless green wisps before falling silent.
Everything happened too suddenly; those remaining rushed into the cave in a panic.
In their desperate flight for survival, who would still be gentlemanly enough to insist on "ladies first"? Mei Shuang stumbled as she was tripped by the foot of a black-clad man in front of her and fell right at the cave entrance.
As Anriyan leaped toward the cave entrance and saw Mei Shuang in danger, he quickly reached out to help her. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a strand of Soulbinding Grass flying toward them rapidly.
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