Chapter 206 ·Let’s Keep Going
Chapter 206: Let’s Keep Going
“Run!!!”
Those beetles, each only the size of a fingernail, produced a “rustling” sound as they piled over one another in overwhelming numbers.
They were like a black carpet rapidly tightening.
Xiao Hong clearly hadn’t reacted yet, staring blankly at the surging black tide.
Lilia grabbed Xiao Hong by the collar of her bright red cloak without hesitation. Not caring whether she might strangle this former villain, she hoisted her up like a sack and threw her over her shoulder.
As for Bulara?
The moment that puppet heard the word “run,” her neck spun one hundred and eighty degrees. Without even bending her legs, she launched straight into the air like a spring, instantly dashing dozens of meters away.
“Damn it! You’re a professional at abandoning teammates, aren’t you?!”
Lilia cursed, then stomped hard with her foot.
Boom!
The ground where she had been standing instantly caved into a shallow pit, dirt scattering everywhere.
With the enhancement of the Seed of Life, Lilia’s physical condition was practically a bug now. With that single push, her whole body shot forward like a cannonball, tearing a streak of afterimage across the grass with a howling wind.
The wind screamed past her ears.
The rustling behind her chased relentlessly.
Lilia glanced back briefly and nearly died on the spot.
Those insects were absurdly fast, and they weren’t crawling—they were “flowing.” The ones in front paved the way, while the ones behind trampled over their companions, surging forward like a black tsunami, clinging to them from less than fifty meters behind.
“Bulara! How did you plan the route?! How did we run into something like this?!”
Lilia shouted furiously at the stiff figure ahead.
“According to calculations, this is the shortest path.” Bulara’s voice had no fluctuation, even carrying a faint mechanical stutter.
“It is best not to stop.”
“No shit! Do you think I dare to stop?!”
One kilometer.
Five kilometers.
Ten kilometers.
The surrounding scenery rapidly receded. The once vast purple grassland gradually thinned, and large patches of exposed black rock began to appear.
In the past, if Lilia ran like this for a while, her lungs would have coughed themselves out.
But now, after sprinting at high speed, Lilia actually felt…
A bit bored?
Yes, bored.
Aside from the wind stinging her face slightly, her breathing remained steady.
“S-stop…”
Xiao Hong on her shoulder was already foaming at the mouth. Even though she was being carried, the level of jolting was comparable to a roller coaster, shaking her into motion sickness.
Lilia didn’t slow down.
Until—
The puppet running ahead suddenly came to an abrupt stop.
Screech—
Bulara’s feet scraped across the black rocky ground, sparks flying as she forcibly halted.
Lilia stopped as well and tossed Xiao Hong, who was about to throw up, onto the ground.
“Why stop? Ran out of power?” Lilia turned back cautiously.
Then she froze.
That black tide of insects had stopped just under ten meters behind them.
“So this is… the deterrence of the Sighing Mountains?”
Lilia let out a breath—though she wasn’t tired, the instinctive reaction of surviving a near-death experience still had to be done.
She lowered her head and looked at the ground beneath her feet.
If one looked closely, it was clear that from the line where the insects stopped, the color of the ground subtly changed. The land outside was grayish-brown, carrying a hint of life. But here, the ground was pure black.
However, after spending so long in the palace, Lilia felt that this kind of place was what normal land in the Demon Realm should look like.
“Bulara.” Lilia kicked her lightly. “What’s going on with this place? Why don’t those bugs dare to come in?”
Bulara’s lifeless purple eyes flickered twice.
“I don’t know.”
She answered simply.
Lilia rolled her eyes.
Listening to you was like not listening at all.
Aside from pretending to be dead and abandoning teammates, this broken puppet was completely useless at critical moments.
Lilia raised her head and looked ahead.
The black mass of the Sighing Mountains was right before them.
“Since the bugs don’t dare come in, it means we’re temporarily safe.” Lilia clapped her hands, trying to liven up the extremely eerie atmosphere. “Look on the bright side—at least we don’t have to worry about being gnawed down to skeletons.”
Bulara remained expressionless.
Xiao Hong looked like she wanted to go home and find her mom.
“Let’s go.”
“The master wouldn’t send me here just to die… probably.”
She silently encouraged herself, then stepped onto the black land.
The ground felt hard and cold beneath her feet, like stepping on a massive slab of black ice.
The three of them walked into the shadow of the Sighing Mountains just like that.
The deeper they went, the darker the surroundings became.
The rocks here were all strangely shaped. Some resembled twisted human faces, others like struggling arms, all sharp and aggressive in form. If one fell carelessly, they would probably be pierced straight through by the protruding stones.
After walking for about half an hour, with almost no change in the scenery, Lilia finally couldn’t stand the silence anymore and spoke up.
“Shortest straight-line distance.” Bulara’s voice echoed in the deathly silent valley, sounding especially eerie.
Bulara stopped, raised her skeletal finger, and pointed straight ahead.
“And there is no need to find a path.”
Lilia followed the direction she pointed.
Between two black peaks that stood like gate guardians, there was a narrow canyon—a slit in the sky—barely wide enough for two people to pass side by side.
“Great.” Lilia looked at the path and gave a dry laugh, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms. “It’s just missing a sign that says ‘Welcome to the Road to the Underworld.’”
Xiao Hong clutched Lilia’s skirt tightly, her voice trembling. “M-my lady… how about we go back and fight the bugs? I think getting bitten to death might be better than going in…”
“Go back?”
Lilia glanced behind them.
That black tide of insects was still lingering beyond the boundary, even showing signs of gathering more densely, forming a dark mass that completely sealed off their retreat.
“Wolves in front, tigers behind, and a fool stuck in the middle.”
Lilia glanced at Bulara, who showed no fear and even looked ready to walk straight into the canyon, then sighed in resignation.
“Let’s go take a look.”
She tightened her grip on the two pitch-black daggers.
If they really ran into something they couldn’t beat… they could still run, right?
After all, she was now a long-distance running champion that even production team donkeys would be ashamed of.
The three continued forward.
The canyon wasn’t long.
But walking inside it, the sense of oppression was suffocating.
Bulara, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.