Chapter 128 : Time to Escape
You Yi's explosive talismans created quite a commotion. Though Yun Qingyue and Jiang Mo were deep underground mining, they still vaguely heard the disturbance.
The little white cat crouched on her Senior Sister's shoulder, curiously raising her head to look. Unfortunately, they had delved too deep—unable to see even a glimmer of light above, let alone discern what was happening outside. Divine sense could have helped, but scanning with divine sense in a secret realm was as taboo as flying, for one never knew when they might disturb an entity they couldn't handle.
Though divine sense was unusable, Jiang Mo still had her system. She called within her consciousness: "System, quickly scan and see what's happening in the stone forest above. Is it someone new arriving, or that unfortunate person surrounded by Flame Poison Scorpions causing trouble?"
The system was diligent as always, agreeing before extending its energy tendrils to scan. However, they were already a step behind in reacting to the noise, and by the time Jiang Mo instructed the system to investigate and it began scanning, You Yi, who had drawn away most of the Flame Poison Scorpions, had long since flown elsewhere. The system's scan results showed no newcomers, though the stone forest had clearly been bombed, and the number of Flame Poison Scorpions had significantly decreased.
Jiang Mo considered this briefly and easily surmised someone had drawn the monsters away, though evidently not well enough, as the unfortunate person in the stone forest still hadn't been rescued... quite pitiful indeed.
But since the visitor who drew away the scorpions had left and the trapped person hadn't broken through, it seemed no one would disturb them for now.
The little white cat felt somewhat relieved. Looking back, she saw the Spirit Crystal her Senior Sister had excavated growing larger, now nearly half a person's height. She didn't know how large such Spirit Crystal mines typically were, though they must be rare—after all, scarcity creates value.
Seeing the little white cat settle down, Yun Qingyue seemed to guess she had finished her investigation and took a moment to ask: "How is it?"
The little white cat naturally didn't hide anything and told her what the system had discovered, concluding: "I think that person definitely went to draw away the Flame Poison Scorpions, and might return anytime. Senior Sister, dig quickly—don't let anyone discover this place and cause complications." After all, the best fortunes were those gained in silence.
Having traversed the cultivation world for years, Yun Qingyue understood these matters far better than Jiang Mo. When she heard the commotion from the stone forest above, she guessed someone had arrived, and her movements not only didn't pause but accelerated by several degrees.
Fortunately, You Yi's attention was completely drawn to Ruan Le and the Flame Poison Scorpions. Otherwise, had he discovered the hole in the ground and investigated out of curiosity, they would likely have faced a confrontation, after which the Canglán Secret Realm would probably never be peaceful again—Spirit Crystal was simply too precious. Even thousand-year mines, as premium artifact refining materials, could provoke fierce competition, let alone this ten-thousand-year mine nurturing the power of laws!
Yes, after digging for so long, Yun Qingyue had confirmed this was indeed the legendary ten-thousand-year mine. Each Spirit Crystal nurtured a trace of law, and fearing she might damage this trace if she damaged the crystal, she became increasingly cautious in her excavation.
Of course, caution slowed her progress, especially since the companion black rock encasing the Spirit Crystal was incredibly hard, and she couldn't simply cut away both black rock and Spirit Crystal together. Thus, it was uncertain whether they could finish excavating the Spirit Crystal mine before You Yi returned.
Originally, Yun Qingyue hadn't anticipated the underground treasure would be a Spirit Crystal mine, nor that the black rock would be so difficult to handle, so she hadn't set up any prohibitions at the entrance when she began digging. She had merely casually laid a barrier making the opening appear identical to its surroundings. But this was merely visual concealment—anyone using divine sense to probe or simply stepping on it would certainly discover the truth.
Continuing her work, Yun Qingyue considered before retrieving a set of formation disks for the little white cat, instructing: "These are concealment formation disks. Go place them at the entrance, and it won't easily be noticed."
The little white cat's eyes brightened at these words. She immediately took the formation disks, holding them with both front paws, then bade farewell before flying directly toward the entrance.
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You Yi flew unhurriedly through the air, leading the Flame Poison Scorpions, like a red tide, far away. Initially, some spirit beasts in the sky disliked his presence and wanted to strike him down, but they quickly noticed the surging Flame Poison Scorpions. Regardless of their level, all spirit beasts retreated upon seeing this, likely cursing their bad luck.
Thus, as long as he avoided the stingers from the pursuing Flame Poison Scorpions, You Yi was essentially safe. Worried that he hadn't drawn the scorpions far enough and they might return, he flew hundreds of miles.
Senior Brother wouldn't return for some time, and Ruan Le knew this was her best chance to escape—though even this opportunity presented numerous difficulties, could she really wait for another senior brother or sister to come to her aid? Despite their firm promises before entering the secret realm, circumstances within changed in an instant, and who could truly look after whom? Only one You Yi had come searching for her in all these days of lost contact.
Ruan Le knew she should seize this opportunity, especially since the magical treasures and formations in her storage ring were nearly depleted. She didn't know how far You Yi had led the Flame Poison Scorpions, nor when he might return, but ultimately, she could only rely on herself.
Having steeled her resolve, when Ruan Le looked at the scorpion wall again, a flash of determination appeared in her eyes.
Despite being surrounded for days and unable to do anything but throw magical treasures to hold back the Flame Poison Scorpions, this didn't mean Ruan Le had done nothing. Initially, she had extended her divine sense to explore the surroundings and find escape routes, only to discover these black rocks could block divine sense!
This news was both good and bad—bad because she couldn't explore anything, good because the Flame Poison Scorpions likely faced the same limitation.
This meant Ruan Le only needed to escape the scorpions' line of sight, then use aura-concealing or invisibility talismans to disappear from their detection. Afterward, whether stealthily leaving or hiding, she would have room to maneuver.
Fortunately, Ruan Le possessed both types of talismans, and in greater quantities than other talismans—though she hadn't prepared many originally, they simply hadn't been useful, unlike offensive or defensive talismans which had been exhausted during her entanglement with the Flame Poison Scorpions. It was all tears; she had entered the secret realm without gaining anything yet had already emptied her storage ring.
Gathering her composure, Ruan Le donned all remaining magical robes and defensive artifacts from her storage ring, then took out her last seven explosive talismans and faced the towering, terrifying scorpion wall.
Throughout her flight, she had killed many Flame Poison Scorpions with talismans, deepening their hatred toward her. Additionally, You Yi had just casually thrown down several talismans, leaving the Flame Poison Scorpions battered and humiliated, so they clearly recognized the power of talismans. Seeing Ruan Le produce talismans, the scorpions stirred uneasily before collectively raising their stingers in defensive postures.
Ruan Le's legs weakened at the sight of thousands of scorpion stingers aimed at her, but she ultimately threw out the explosive talismans.
With several thunderous "booms," the scorpion wall directly facing the explosion collapsed in disarray, with countless stingers simultaneously shooting toward Ruan Le. With no time or space to dodge, her body flashed with magical light as several protective treasures were destroyed, though they successfully shielded her from this attack.
This was her only chance. Ruan Le leapt up, mounted her flying sword, and fled.
She dared not fly high and become a target, especially with many other spirit beasts in the desert. Having already decided to use the black rocks' special properties to escape, she didn't hesitate, keeping close to the ground as she fled toward the stone forest she had spotted.
Fortunately, You Yi had drawn away many Flame Poison Scorpions, reducing not only the height and thickness of the scorpion wall but also clearing seven or eight tenths of those distributed throughout the stone forest. The remaining scattered scorpions posed a significantly reduced threat. Unfortunately, their poison proved truly potent—when they attacked her, it affected her flying sword, which became corroded and ruined after a short flight.
Caught unprepared, Ruan Le fell directly, nearly making intimate contact with a Flame Poison Scorpion raising its stinger.
Staring at the black poisonous needle, she hastily rolled to the side, not only landing disheveled but having her arm slashed by the scorpion's close-range stinger, which had penetrated her magical robe's defense!
Ruan Le felt a slight pain in her arm, followed by numbness as the entire limb instantly lost sensation. She hurriedly mobilized her spiritual energy to block the poison's spread, only to discover upon looking down that her blood wasn't red but an eerie dark purple. This purple rapidly expanded, quickly overtaking her entire arm—had she not reacted promptly by sealing the poison with spiritual energy, she likely would have been instantly poisoned.
Seeing this, Ruan Le was greatly alarmed and didn't concern herself with either the scorpion that had just injured her or her damaged flying sword. She scrambled to her feet, running toward the stone forest while hastily retrieving and swallowing an antidote pill.
Tiandao Sect certainly had high-level pill refiners, so the antidote pill was naturally effective, but Ruan Le's heart was now racing with panic.
She had already employed all her defensive magical treasures, and if she still couldn't escape... no, the Flame Poison Scorpions had already breached her defenses. If she encountered another, or another group, she might not be so lucky as to escape again.
In her panic, Ruan Le ran with a stagger. Additionally, she frequently looked back to check for pursuers, preventing her from carefully observing the path ahead. As she ran, she somehow missed her footing, and with spiritual energy temporarily unable to gather due to the poison's influence, she flailed her arms like a mortal before inevitably falling.
In that moment of falling, Ruan Le saw dozens of Flame Poison Scorpions in hot pursuit and immediately felt her vision darken, believing her life was over. Then she blinked and realized it truly was dark before her eyes. Not only had her vision darkened, but her body was suspended in air.
With a series of tumbles, Ruan Le fell into an unknown pit.
After rolling for an unknown duration, Ruan Le was dizzy and disoriented. Vaguely, she seemed to glimpse a golden light, but before she could examine it carefully, she felt a pain in her neck, followed by another blackout—this time she had completely fainted.