Jian Lin collapsed to the ground, her voice weak, "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have come in."
"You wouldn't have known," the Demon Lord paced back and forth, looking up at the cave ceiling. The darkness seemed boundless. "The demons who knew the truth never left. If the four great demon tribes knew the truth, would they still dare to come down?"
Jian Lin thought about it and agreed. The four great demon tribes were greedy and short-sighted, but they certainly wouldn't seek their own demise.
She gradually calmed down and looked up at the Demon Lord. She saw him with his hands tucked into his robes, as if searching for something.
Jian Lin knew the Demon Lord kept his Qiankun Bag in his robes. Her eyes lit up, and she looked at him expectantly. Did he have a way?
After searching for a long time, the Demon Lord finally pulled out something resembling a firecracker. It had a bamboo exterior, was palm-sized, and had a long fuse at one end.
"What is this?" Jian Lin stood up and leaned closer, asking curiously.
"A signal flare. It can ascend to an altitude of a thousand meters. Anyone who sees this signal must come to see the Demon Lord as quickly as possible," the Demon Lord pulled out a fire starter. "However, now, we need to see if it can reach the mountaintop."
As he finished speaking, the Demon Lord lit the signal flare, channeled his demonic energy, and threw it with great force. The small bamboo firecracker shot upwards with a whistling sound and a burning tail, disappearing into the dark void.
The two humans and three demons all stared upwards. As time passed, the atmosphere grew colder.
The signal flare had disappeared. Even if it hadn't reached the top, it should have exploded at an altitude of about a thousand meters, and they should have heard a sound or seen a light.
But there was nothing, not even a slight reaction.
Jian Lin shivered involuntarily. It was terrifying. What was at the very top?
She quickly summoned the system, but the system only replied with two incredibly unhelpful words: it said the area above was "void."
That was as good as saying nothing!
Hong Qu sensed the Demon Lord's disappointment and immediately offered, "I'll climb up along the rock face to see what's happening."
"No."
"Don't."
The Demon Lord and Jian Lin spoke at the same time. The Demon Lord glanced at her and said to Hong Qu, "There's no need. Don't underestimate the power of dragon bones. Those are divine artifacts. Before we ascend to godhood, in the eyes of the divine realm, we are all ants."
As he said this, Jian Lin unconsciously looked at Xiao Li, who was still standing at the edge of the cliff, staring at the silver fish in the spiritual脉.
She walked over and sat next to Xiao Li, saying softly, "Do you want to eat them? I'll find a way to get them for you. Can you give us some advice?"
"I don't know anything," Xiao Li tilted her fluffy face, her golden eyes direct and honest. "I've never met my father. My mother was a cat demon. She only taught me two things: how to hide and protect myself, and how to seal important things. I know nothing about my father."
Jian Lin was silent. She reached out and stroked Xiao Li's head, then continued to ask, "Do you have any special feelings?"
"I want to eat, I really, really want to eat," Xiao Li said honestly.
Jian Lin was resigned. Fine, that counted as a special feeling.
While Jian Lin and Xiao Li were whispering, the Demon Lord, Hong Qu, and Tao Niang behind them were also discussing. Going up was impossible, so they should think of a way to go down.
The two groups spoke their own words, inexplicably reaching the same goal.
"I'll try the underground river."
"I want to go to the underground river to catch fish."
The Demon Lord and Jian Lin spoke simultaneously again. This time, the Demon Lord cut in first, frowning unhappily, "What time is it? You still want to eat fish?"
"We have to go down anyway," Jian Lin smiled and pleaded, "Might as well catch a few."
The Demon Lord couldn't refuse. "Fine, you wait."
With that, the Demon Lord, without any hesitation and without giving the others time to prepare, jumped directly into the underground river.
A dark figure fell into the riverbed, following the stream of silver fish like flowing light, disappearing rapidly, leaving no trace.
Jian Lin lay on the edge of the cliff, her heart clenched. Would the Demon Lord just disappear like this?
She was filled with regret. How could she have let the Demon Lord jump down like that? At least she should have tied a rope to him. If he was washed even deeper underground, wouldn't it all be over?
If she couldn't find the Demon Lord, her target for conquest would be gone. What was the point of her being here?
However, if she died, she could restart the system. But looking around at Tao Niang, Hong Qu, and Xiao Li, she couldn't bear to do it. It was hard to make such a decision easily.
Time slowly passed. Just as Jian Lin was despairing, a dark figure suddenly appeared from another direction, quickly streaked across, and disappeared.
Jian Lin thought she was seeing things. She quickly looked around to confirm, "Did you see that? That was..."
Tao Niang nodded frantically, "We saw it. The Demon Lord slid away to the right and reappeared from the left, like he was circling."
Hong Qu's face turned ashen. She lunged forward, about to jump down, "I'm going to chase the Demon Lord!"
"Hey, wait!" Jian Lin immediately stopped her. "Don't jump blindly. No more entering the underground river. There's clearly a problem. We need to think of other ways."
Hong Qu anxiously asked, "What other ways?"
"Let me think," Jian Lin had always relied on the Demon Lord. This time, since the Demon Lord was in trouble, she had to rely on herself. She communicated frantically with the system and finally came up with a rough idea. "As long as we don't touch the underground river, we can just pull the Demon Lord out directly!"
Jian Lin stood up and directed, "We'll weave a noose from vines, then climb down along the vines. When the Demon Lord appears, we'll ensnare him and pull him up. Remember, we can only use things from the cave to touch the underground river. We absolutely cannot fall in, otherwise, we'll end up like the Demon Lord, in the same predicament."
Tao Niang and Hong Qu didn't doubt her and immediately began to act according to Jian Lin's instructions. During this time, the Demon Lord streaked past once more. Jian Lin suddenly had a bad premonition.
If they didn't save the Demon Lord, wouldn't he eventually be transformed into a silver fish by the endless scouring of the spiritual脉?
She dared not think about it and quickly shook off her thoughts, helping Tao Niang weave the rope.
Tao Niang was skilled with her hands and quickly wove a sturdy rope from five or six vines, tying a slipknot at one end that could tighten quickly under force.
Thus, they quickly made three ropes. The three of them slung them over their shoulders, grabbed the silver-yellow flower vines at the edge of the cliff, and slowly began to climb down.
"Absolutely do not fall," Jian Lin emphasized again. "If only one of us manages to ensnare the Demon Lord, and we can't hold him, you must let go. Don't be dragged down, as that will only make our rescue mission more difficult."
Hong Qu nodded solemnly, "I know, stop nagging!"
Seeing that Hong Qu was about to get angry, Jian Lin finally felt relieved, hoping she had taken it to heart.
The two demons and one human slowly climbed to the bottom of the cliff. The cliff was straight up and down, with no buffer whatsoever. They could only laboriously secure their bodies with the flower vines.
The closer they got to the spiritual脉, the more obvious the powerful, dizzying force became. Jian Lin, being human, was fine, but for the demons, it was a deadly test.
The usually steady Tao Niang suddenly spoke, saying carelessly, "I really want to take a sip. It must taste great. It would double my cultivation."
"Tao Niang!" Jian Lin shouted at her. "Don't drink it, wake up!"
Tao Niang blinked, "What? What's wrong with me?"
Jian Lin said it was nothing and turned to look at Hong Qu with concern. What she saw made her jump.
She saw Hong Qu cutting her wrist with a dagger. Bright red blood seeped out. She wiped it away expressionlessly, her face set in a determined expression, "I said I know, you don't need to worry about me."
Wow, she was a tough one, Jian Lin admired her!
With that, she said no more. They threw the ropes into the underground river and waited for the Demon Lord to appear again.
After an unknown amount of time, a dark figure flew rapidly. First, Tao Niang missed, and Jian Lin didn't catch him either. Hong Qu swung with all her might, grazing the Demon Lord's shoulder. It was just a little bit short of ensnaring his head, but it still failed!
The two demons and one human were undeterred and waited for the Demon Lord to appear again. After five or six attempts, they all narrowly missed.
Their bodies, bound by the flower vines, had gone numb. When the Demon Lord flashed into view again, Tao Niang cried out in surprise, having actually ensnared the Demon Lord's neck!
The rapid force pulled her towards Jian Lin. Jian Lin didn't dare to blink. Taking advantage of the slightly slower speed, she again ensnared the Demon Lord's neck.
The strength of the two of them turned the Demon Lord's body, and the order of the rapidly flowing underground river began to become chaotic. Hong Qu seized this opportunity and ensnared the Demon Lord's feet.
At the same time, the powerful force pulled the three of them together. The flower vines on the cliff could not withstand the impact. Leaves and petals began to fall, and a bad cracking sound was heard.
It turned out that Tao Niang's flower vine was caught at the edge of the cliff, and the repeated friction showed signs of breaking.
If this continued, the three of them, along with the Demon Lord, would all disappear into the underground river.
"No, everyone pull together, climb up quickly!" Jian Lin shouted, looping the rope around her own neck and pulling upwards with all her might. But the underground river seemed to have a suction force, clinging to the Demon Lord's body and making it difficult to pull him out.
It was like a tug-of-war with the spiritual脉. They were at a stalemate, exhausting all their strength, but making no progress.
Suddenly, with a crack, Tao Niang's flower vine broke. Fortunately, she had already grabbed another one, but if this continued, the three of them would all meet a bad end.
Just as they were in despair, a powerful force suddenly came from above. Jian Lin looked up, unable to see Xiao Li's figure, only a flash of golden light.
She couldn't imagine what form Xiao Li was helping them in.
With a splash, there was a sound behind them. Jian Lin looked back in surprise and saw a dark figure shoot out rapidly. He lifted the three of them by himself and quickly flew up the cliff along the vines.
He was not even slightly wet. He curiously pulled at the rope around his neck and asked, "What are you guys doing? Trying to strangle me?"
Jian Lin was too exhausted to speak, lying on the ground.
Hong Qu, her face pale, asked the question she wanted to ask, "Demon Lord, you don't remember anything?"
"Remember what?" the Demon Lord said with a grave expression. "I only remember that as soon as I entered the underground river, it was vast and boundless. I reached out to grab a handful of silver fish and was pulled up by a powerful force."
The Demon Lord reached into his robes and pulled out a handful of silver fish, about seven or eight of them, still swimming in the air.
Jian Lin shook her head helplessly, "Yes, those who enter do not remember. They will only remain in the moment they entered. As the saying goes, a moment is eternity, that's the principle."
The Demon Lord untied the rope around his neck and threw it away. He turned and stood at the edge of the cliff, looking down at the shimmering silver underground river. "So, the path below is also blocked."
Yes, the way up was blocked, and the underground river was impassable. Were they destined to be trapped here?