Chapter 165: Escape Plan
Chapter 165: Escape Plan
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The sight of the cocoon sent Zhu Rong’s mind racing, as he tried to think through the various options now available to him.
Different possibilities and thoughts ran through his head, but one thing was clear,
right now, neither of them could do much about the creature inside the cocoon.
Both of them had a level of strength comparable to a fifth stage cultivator, his own being even slightly higher thanks to the power of his various elemental cores.
But he knew very well the difference in power between the Mortal Realm and the Spirit Realm, so even if the creature inside the cocoon was just at the early stages of the Spirit Realm, their situation would not be good at all.
In other words, the gap between realms was simply too big to be bridged so easily.
Even if he managed to rally every single fifth stage cultivator that had come into the secret realm, they still wouldn’t stand a chance against that creature.
So, in the end, their options were limited.
All they could really do now was turn around, get out of here, and hopefully find a way to leave this place as quickly as possibble.
Unlike Zhu Rong, who fully understood the gravity of the situation,
Liang Yuexin had only read in a few reports about what had happened at the Yao family’s mine, so she could only get a rough idea of what was in front of them, and while she didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of the situation, she could still sense how dangerous it was.
Neither of them said anything, but their exchanged glance showed they were thinking the same thing.
Both were ready to retreat back into the tunnel that had brought them here and put as much distance as possible between themselves and this place.
But just as they were about to do so, that strange sensation that had guided him here emerged once again, only this time, it wasn’t alone.
Along with it, he felt something else, the sensation of someone staring straight at them.
’Don’t tell me...’ He turned his head back, and there, by the tunnel entrance they had come through, stood a figure.
It was someone he had never seen before, and yet, for some strange reason, the figure felt oddly familiar.
The man was tall, with long black hair tied behind him, wearing a simple white robe. His expression was calm and serene as he gazed at them, yet to Zhu Rong’s eyes, it was anything but serene.
Noticing Zhu Rong’s actions, Liang Yuexin also turned to look behind and spotted the figure.
’What..., when did he appear there?’ Even she noticed how strange the situation was and immediately went on alert.
At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder if this figure might be the guardian spirit of this secret realm.
She had already been inside a secret realm before and knew a thing or two about them, so it was the first thought that crossed her mind.
That didn’t mean she lowered her guard, though, something about that figure felt off.
Noticing they had seen him, the figure smiled and said,
"Ah, to think some of you would make it here so soon. It’s really unfortunate. But oh well, guess i’ll just need to make a move a bit earlier than expected"
The words flowed smoothly at first, seemingly directed at them, but halfway through they grew harder to understand.
"You... are you the guardian spirit of this realm?" Liang Yuexin asked, as she too felt that his words sounded strange.
"Hmm? Oh, well, you could indeed consider me the guardian spirit of this realm."
Once again, the words weren’t entirely clear, and both of them couldn’t help but notice the way he referred to himself.
His body was translucent, as if he wasn’t truly alive, more of a ghost than anything else, which instinctively made one think he really was the guardian spirit of this place.
But Zhu Rong felt there was more to it. He sensed a strange kind of energy emanating from this figure.
On the other hand, although Liang Yuexin also felt the man’s words were odd, she decided to ignore them for now and test another thought that had crossed her mind while observing the figure.
"You should be the manifestation of the original creator of this place, right? May I ask who you are, or rather, who created this secret realm?"
As an instructor at the academy, she had extensive knowledge of the history of the Human Empire.
She wasn’t sure why, but she felt she had seen that face somewhere before, so she decided to ask directly, thinking it might explain why this figure was here in the first place.
Just like her, Zhu Rong had also noticed the familiarity of that face, and he, too, managed to associate it with someone he had once seen in an old text.
But that was exactly why his vigilance toward this "spirit" shot up to the maximum.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this figure resembled the first human emperor.
If that were truly the case, then this place could be the inheritance he had left behind.
That’s what most people would assume, coming to such a conclusion. But not him.
Because in his past life, he had already obtained the inheritance of the first human emperor.
It was there that he had managed to get his hands on the remains of the Nine Extremity Dao Scripture.
And if his memory wasn’t failing him, that place was far from here.
So it wasn’t possible for this to be the first emperor’s inheritance.
But then why had this figure taken on his appearance?
The energy Zhu Rong felt from the figure was hard to analyze, as it was carefully hidden.
But that faint sense of familiarity was undeniable, more than enough for him to draw his own conclusion.
’Just as I thought... he’s already awakened.’
And at that very moment, as if he had read Zhu Rong’s mind, the figure who had been speaking to Liang Yuexin turned his gaze toward him.
That same serene expression was still painted on his face, but now it carried something far more unsettling.
"Well, this is unexpected. It seems you’ve noticed. Impressive, especially considering your current cultivation level," the figure said, as a faint reddish aura began to seep out of his body.
Liang Yuexin, hearing his words, was left confused about what he meant and turned to Zhu Rong to ask, but just then...
A sudden explosion of power burst out from Zhu Rong, and before she could even process the sudden shift in events, she felt something wrap around her waist and yank her to the side.
THUD!
’What...’ Everything had happened far too quickly for her to understand.
Just a second ago, they had started conversing with this strange figure she assumed to be the guardian spirit of the realm, and not even a full minute later, she was being dragged away by Zhu Rong.
But though confused, she soon realized why he had done it, and how could she not?
For the very next instant, a strange black and red tendril smashed into the spot they had just been standing on, shattering the ground and leaving deep cracks behind.
"Oh? You managed to sense my attack. Your instincts are surprisingly sharp. Not that it matters, in fact, it makes things all the more interesting."
The spirit’s words rang out, and Zhu Rong immediately sensed several more attacks like it, only this time, they weren’t coming from the front, but from every direction.
’Damn it, he’s trying to trap us here.’
Gritting his teeth, Zhu Rong converged his elemental Qi through his feet into the ground beneath him.
The earth shook, and several earthen pillars shot upward all around him, intercepting the incoming tendrils.
The pillars were destroyed almost instantly, but by the time the attacks broke through, their targets were already gone, having vanished from that spot and reappeared dozens of meters away.
Spiritual energy surged around Zhu Rong’s body, forming a faint current of air around him.
His eyes glowed faintly as he fully released his spiritual sense to get a clearer picture of the place and their surroundings.
He had avoided doing so earlier to keep from disturbing the creature inside the cocoon, but at this point it hardly mattered, as the creature was already awake.
"You should’ve already reached a good level of control over your lightning, right?" he asked, as soon as they had a moment to catch their breath.
Setting her down, he asked while keeping his guard up.
Liang Yuexin, hearing him, nodded instinctively as she prepared to fight as well.
"Good. I’ll create a distraction, use it to escape from here," he said, as fluctuations of elemental energy began to spill out of him.
"What? no, I’m not leaving you behind to face this-"
"Listen, I don’t have time to explain all the details. All you need to know is, if we stay here any longer, neither of us will make it out alive.
Don’t worry, I’ll catch up right after. I have a way. But if you stay, it’ll only make things worse."
He cut her off immediately.
Just moments ago, as Zhu Rong scanned the area, he noticed a particular detail in his surroundings.
The moment he did, he saw a way to get out of this desperate situation,
That’s why he wanted her to get out of here first, if she stayed, he wouldn’t be able to carry out his plan.