boyutpedia Chapter 120: A good opportunity missed in the gap
Chapter 120: A good opportunity missed in the gap
A good opportunity missed in the gap
The rustling sound grew closer. I clenched Hao Yang's hand, my palms wet with sweat. Shining the flashlight, something squirming around the corner finally became apparent—a swarm of black insects with countless tentacles! They densely packed the walls and ground, swarming rapidly toward us.
"Oh no! It's a soul-eating insect!" Elder Wei's face changed drastically. "This insect feeds on spiritual energy. If it bites you, your spiritual energy will dissipate!"
As soon as I finished speaking, the bugs were already approaching us. I subconsciously took a step back, and Hao Yang immediately stood in front of me, condensing a spiritual barrier in his hand to keep the bugs out. "Yaoyao, don't be afraid, I'm here!"
Elder Wei also swiftly attacked, waving his whisk, and streams of spiritual energy transformed into sharp blades, slashing at the insect swarm. However, these soul-devouring insects were numerous and fearless, surging forward one after another, and cracks began to appear in the spiritual barrier.
"Damn, there are too many bugs!" Hao Yang gritted his teeth, sweat oozing from his forehead.
I was filled with anxiety. If this continued, we would be devoured by the insects sooner or later. Just then, I noticed the symbols carved into the walls on both sides of the passage seemed to flicker. A thought struck me: Could these symbols be some kind of formation?
"Elder Wei, these symbols..." I pointed at the symbols on the wall and wanted to ask.
"Don't be distracted, Yaoyao!" Elder Wei said as he fended off the insects. "These symbols might be some kind of ancient formation. Breaking it might reveal the key to dealing with the mysterious organization!"
I understood what Elder Wei meant. Now wasn't the time to study the symbols; we had to resolve the immediate crisis. However, I couldn't take my eyes off the symbols; I felt like they were guiding me.
At this moment, Wei Xue suddenly screamed: "Ah! There are so many bugs! Help!" While shouting, she waved her arms in panic. Not only did she not help, but she also disrupted our formation.
"Wei Xue, calm down!" I couldn't help but scold, "Don't make trouble!"
"I... I'm scared..." Wei Xue said in tears, "I don't want to die here..."
I was furious. This Wei Xue only knew how to cause trouble! If it weren't for her, we might have found a way to break the formation long ago.
"Wei Xue, if you continue like this, we will all die here!" I said sternly.
Perhaps my tone was too harsh, Wei Xue finally calmed down, but her face was still pale and her body was trembling.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Now was not the time for internal strife. We had to unite to get through this.
"Hao Yang, Elder Wei, we must find a way to break out!" I said.
"But..." Hao Yang looked at the dense swarm of insects with a look of despair on his face, "We can't break out at all..."
Just then, I noticed a glimmer of light at the end of the passage. I was delighted. Could it be the exit?
"Look, there's light!" I said, pointing to the end of the passage.
Hao Yang and Elder Wei looked in the direction of my finger, and a glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes.
"Let's rush out!" Elder Wei shouted, waving the whisk in his hand more violently, and forcibly opened a path through the swarm of insects.
The three of us rushed towards the light, but just as we were about to reach the exit, the passage suddenly began to collapse... A huge rock fell from above, blocking the exit...
"No..." I cried desperately.
A dark shadow flashed by, and I felt dizzy...
"Take her away..." A cold voice sounded in my ears...
When I woke up, my head was splitting and my vision was blurry. Blinking hard, I gradually began to see my surroundings. It was a dark, damp cave, and the air was filled with a sickening, musty smell. My hands and feet were bound, and I couldn't move. Hao Yang and Elder Wei were nowhere to be found.
"Awake?" a cold voice came.
I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man in black standing before me. He was wearing a black mask, revealing only a pair of cold eyes. He was a shadow guard of a mysterious organization.
Fear surged over me like a tide, but I tried to stay calm. I couldn't panic, I had to find a way to escape.
"What do you want to do?" I tried to make my voice sound calmer.
The shadow guard sneered: "You will know soon."
He ignored me and turned to leave the cave. I then noticed that the walls of the cave were covered with strange symbols, exactly the same as those in the previous passage.
Could it be... that this is the ancient formation that Elder Wei mentioned?
I endured the headache and carefully observed these symbols. They seemed to be flashing a faint light, as if attracting me.
I tried to recall the symbols I had seen in the passage and what Elder Wei had said. He said these symbols might be some kind of ancient formation, and that cracking it might reveal the key to dealing with the mysterious organization.
A light bulb went off in my head, and a bold idea emerged.
I began to try to arrange these symbols in a certain order and tried to inject my own spiritual energy into them.
At first, there was no response. But I didn't give up, I kept trying different combinations, injecting Reiki again and again.
Finally, after countless attempts, I felt a powerful force surging from the symbol and flowing through my entire body.
I felt my body was full of strength and my mind became unusually clear.
I successfully cracked a part of the formation!
I was ecstatic, I knew that I was one step closer to my goal of escaping.
I discovered that this formation was somehow connected to the spiritual herbs. This gave me hope. I knew that if I could find the right spiritual herbs, I could completely break the formation and escape.
I began to look for traces of spiritual herbs in the cave.
Just when I was about to completely break the formation, a sharp voice broke the silence of the cave.
"Ah! Help! There's a ghost!" It was Wei Xue's voice.
Damn it! This woman who is more likely to cause trouble than to help!
My heart sank. I knew that Wei Xue's scream would definitely attract the shadow guards.
Sure enough, not long after, several shadow guards rushed into the cave.
"What's going on?" asked one of the shadow guards.
Wei Xue pointed at me and cried, "She...she wants to kill me!"
I looked at Wei Xue coldly. This woman could even make up such a lie in order to frame me.
The shadow guard ignored Wei Xue's cries and turned his gaze to me.
"What did you do?" a shadow guard asked me.
I didn't answer, because I knew they wouldn't believe me no matter what I said.
"Take him away!" the leading shadow guard gave an order.
Several shadow guards immediately rushed up and surrounded me.
I took a deep breath and knew that a fierce battle was inevitable.
"Wait," I said suddenly, "I can tell you a secret."
The shadow guards stopped and looked at me in confusion.
I sneered, "A secret about... this formation..."
The shadow guards' eyes were inquiring, clearly intrigued by my words. I glanced at them with a mysterious air, lowering my voice as I spoke, "This formation connects to a treasure trove, which contains..." I paused, observing their reactions. Sure enough, a flicker of greed crossed their eyes. I continued, "It contains a treasure powerful enough to overturn the entire world of cultivation."
Of course, I won't tell them the truth. This formation isn't connected to a treasure trove, but a passage to another world. I need time, I need them to be distracted, even for just a moment, enough for me to do what I want.
"Don't try to fool us!" one of the shadow guards said sternly, but there was a hint of hesitation in his tone.
I sneered: "Believe it or not, but if you miss this opportunity, you will definitely regret it." As I spoke, I secretly accumulated spiritual power, ready to wait for an opportunity to act.
At that moment, Hao Yang and Elder Wei appeared at the cave entrance. They were covered in wounds, having clearly been through a fierce battle. Seeing me surrounded by the Shadow Guards, Hao Yang's eyes flashed with worry.
"Yao'er, are you okay?" he asked anxiously.
I shook my head and signaled him not to act rashly.
"Let her go!" Hao Yang roared at the shadow guard.
The shadow guards ignored him and surrounded me even tighter.
"It seems that you are not going to cooperate." I sighed, with a hint of regret in my tone.
The next second, I unleashed all of my long-accumulated spiritual power, sending a powerful wave of energy sweeping across the entire cave. The Shadow Guards were caught off guard and were knocked back several steps by this sudden surge of power.
I took the opportunity to rush towards Hao Yang and Elder Wei, and the three of us stood back to back, ready to fight.
The Shadow Guards' attacks were incredibly fast and specialized in sneak attacks. We were caught off guard and had to respond hastily. I dodged their attacks while continuing to break the formation, but the Shadow Guards' distractions made it difficult to concentrate. Hao Yang, with all his might, protected me as he engaged the Shadow Guards in a fierce battle. Every clash of blades terrified me. Watching him steadily incur new wounds, I felt a mixture of emotion and guilt. I vowed to resolve this crisis as quickly as possible. Elder Wei also joined the fray, attacking the Shadow Guards with his magic, but they were cunning and always managed to evade our attacks, stalking us like a swarm of ghosts.
"Yao'er, be careful!" Hao Yang suddenly shouted and pushed me away.
A sharp blade flew past my cheek, leaving a trace of blood. I looked at Hao Yang in shock, only to see a deep cut on his arm, blood gushing out.
"Hao Yang!" I cried out in pain.
But he smiled at me and said, "I'm fine, just break the formation!"
I gritted my teeth, suppressed the worry and anxiety in my heart, and continued to try to break the formation.
Finally, after a bitter battle, we repelled the Shadow Guards. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. However, when I looked at the symbols on the wall again, my heart sank. The symbols' light dimmed, and their arrangement shifted. I reached out to touch them, but I couldn't feel the powerful force I'd felt before.
Elder Wei came over and examined the formation with a serious expression. Then he shook his head and said, "We've missed the best opportunity. Now..." He paused and looked at Wei Xue with a hint of anger in his eyes. "Now the formation has become more complicated and difficult to break."
I looked at Wei Xue, who was cowering in a corner, not daring to look me in the eye. I took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in my heart.
"It's okay," I said, slowly rising to my feet. My voice was eerily calm. "There's another way." I gazed into the depths of the cave. The dark passage seemed like a devouring beast, quietly waiting for us. I took a step forward, heading into the darkness... "Let's go," my voice echoed in the empty cave. "Let's go in."
The air in the cave was suffocatingly heavy, as if foreshadowing impending danger. I supported Hao Yang, his face pale and the wound on his arm still bleeding. Elder Wei sighed, his eyes filled with helplessness and worry.
"The formation is so unpredictable right now. Breaking it by force will only trigger a more powerful restriction." Elder Wei said in a heavy tone, "We have to find another way out."
I turned to look at Wei Xue, huddled in the corner, my rage nearly consuming me. If she hadn't been interfering, we would have already broken through the formation and entered the passage.
"Wei Xue," I tried my best to control my emotions and said word by word, "You'd better pray that we can all get out safely, otherwise..." I didn't finish my words, but the threat was self-evident.
Wei Xue was so frightened that her whole body trembled, but she didn't dare to refute.
"Yao'er," Hao Yang pulled my sleeve weakly, "Don't waste time with her, let's find a way to get out first."
I knew Hao Yang was doing this for my own good, so I took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in my heart. Now wasn't the time to blame anyone; the most urgent thing was to find a way to get out of this hellhole.
"Elder Wei, do you have any other ideas?" I looked at Elder Wei, hoping he could find a new way out.
Elder Wei pondered for a moment and slowly said, "Although the formation at the entrance to the passage is complex, it is not invulnerable. However, the opportunity has passed, and forcing it is too risky. Perhaps we can try to find a breakthrough elsewhere."
His gaze swept across the cave, finally landing on the dark passage deep within. "Perhaps we could go directly into the passage and see if there are any other clues inside."
My heart trembled. This passage was filled with unknown dangers. Entering it rashly would undoubtedly be a risky move. But now we had no choice.
"Okay," I said firmly, "let's go in."
Although Hao Yang was weak, he still held my hand tightly, giving me strength. The three of us stepped into the passage cautiously. Wei Xue behind me hesitated for a moment, but eventually followed.
The passage was pitch black, pitch dark. I pulled a night-shining pearl from my storage bag, and its faint light illuminated a small area around me. Strange symbols were carved into the stone walls on both sides of the passage, gleaming eerily under the light of the night-shining pearl.
We walked slowly along the passage, the air filled with a damp, decayed smell that made us sick. All around us was quiet, with only the sound of our light footsteps echoing in the passage.
Suddenly, I felt a strange vibration under my feet. I quickly stopped and looked around alertly.
"What's wrong?" Hao Yang noticed that something was wrong with me and asked in a low voice.
I shook my head, signaling him to be quiet. The vibrations grew stronger and stronger, and I felt as if the ground was slowly shifting.
"Be careful!" Elder Wei suddenly shouted.
Almost at the same time, the ground beneath my feet suddenly cracked, and I fell down...
"Yao'er!" Hao Yang's terrified cry echoed in my ears. My hand was still tightly grasped by him. He tried to pull me up, but he only grabbed my sleeve. The sleeve made a ripping sound, and I felt myself falling rapidly. The darkness swallowed me. I heard Hao Yang's desperate cry from above my head: "Catch me! Yao'er! Catch me!"