Chapter 112: Confinement

Jackpot!

They had heard this mentioned by people from other sects last night. Unlike Wukang Mountain, those sects had conducted preliminary reconnaissance for their disciples attending the conference. The Moon Sea had no snakes, insects, or rodents; it seemed there weren't even any native animals, let alone wild beasts. Yet, there appeared to be some kind of monster.

What kind of monster it was, ordinary people didn't seem to know, and even the conference organizers only stated there was danger without specifying its nature.

Wu Jinliang quickly stood back-to-back with Shi Chun and said, "So, either someone has been here, or a monster has."

Shi Chun, wary of his surroundings, said, "I'd rather it be a monster." As he spoke, he activated his blood energy with a spell, re-triggering the supernatural ability in his right eye. He scanned his surroundings repeatedly but saw no monster. Instead, he noticed something interesting for the first time: Yan Ji's form, visible as a faint white mist in his right eye, had become extremely light, almost completely dissipated. From this, he could surmise that his right eye would no longer perceive a person after they had been dead for a certain amount of time.

"Around here, my right eye sees nothing; it shouldn't be here anymore," Shi Chun briefly informed him, knowing the other would understand without needing to shout.

Hearing this, Wu Jinliang relaxed slightly and asked, "What about Yan Ji?"

Shi Chun replied, "It's too late to worry. Dispose of it as planned. You handle it; I'll keep watch."

Knowing Shi Chun's eye could see things invisible to others, Wu Jinliang immediately set to work. He first searched Yan Ji's body, then, just as he had done with Guan Wen, chopped off the hands, removed the bracelets, and tossed them into the pit for immediate burial. Afterward, he pulled a "wind scale" from the seized items and handed it to Shi Chun, already grinning from ear to ear. "One for each of us! We've truly struck it rich this time. This thing is far more valuable than a house in the capital, and you can fly anywhere with it. There were five from the Suyuan Sect; if we get the remaining three, we can live comfortably for the rest of our lives, heheheheh!"

The item was indeed excellent for travel and escape, especially in their current situation. Shi Chun didn't hesitate, taking it directly and putting it away.

Just then, a sudden shriek echoed from outside. The sound was faint and somewhat distant but still vaguely audible. The two exchanged a glance and quickly leaped out of the deep ravine. Once outside, Wu Jinliang quickly threw Yan Ji's bracelet and the linked talismans far away.

"Ah..." Another scream followed, accompanied by a rumbling sound. Startled, the two quickly ascended to the treetops to scan their surroundings. They saw nothing but discerned that the commotion originated from the area where the hundreds of people had scattered. Shi Chun swiftly descended into the forest, not touching the ground, but swiftly moving among the tree branches. Wu Jinliang, gripping his broadsword, followed closely.

The two quickly ascended to the mountaintop where they had previously carried out their deed. Hiding in the tree canopy, they surveyed the distance. Suddenly, they saw many trees violently shaking, startling other people in the forest who, having also heard the screams, were cautiously observing. These were indeed the sect members; many didn't know the exact danger but simply leaped out and fled towards the shore. Terrifyingly, some people vanished abruptly into thin air mid-jump. Others appeared to be seized by something unseen and dragged back into the forest.

Wu Jinliang's eyes widened in horror. "What the hell?"

Shi Chun's right eye, however, perceived a different sight: numerous large, brown, misty monsters, resembling octopuses but with several times more tentacles. They could nimbly weave through trees and flutter through the air like butterflies. Inside these monsters, a flickering blue glow shone, identical to that of a Chongji Crystal. Once the tentacles seized a person, they would drag them into a gaping, pitch-black maw. People vanishing mid-jump was precisely because they had leaped directly into that maw. The maw resembled a door, or perhaps the monster's mouth. The moment a person entered, it would suddenly snap shut, or they would simply vanish.

Against such invisible enemies, compounded by traps that appeared out of nowhere, fighting was impossible. Some also managed to sever the tentacles that had coiled around them and swiftly escaped. Screams, shouts of alarm, sounds of combat, and darting figures rising and falling—the scene before them was utter chaos.

"This is impossible!" Shi Chun urgently cried, "Run!"

He had just turned to leave when he suddenly flung out an arm, pulling Wu Jinliang back with an urgent tug. His eyes wide, he stared at the empty space before them: a massive, brown, misty behemoth floated silently right in front of them, seemingly eyeing them with predatory intent. Seeing Shi Chun's reaction, Wu Jinliang knew they were in trouble.

"Retreat!" Shi Chun roared. As the monster's tentacles reached for them, he pulled Wu Jinliang back in an urgent retreat.

Suddenly, a powerful suction of air pulled from behind them. Both felt the surrounding light abruptly dim, and the scene ahead plunged into endless darkness, as if a lamp had been extinguished. It was like leaping from broad daylight into the dead of night, a darkness devoid of any light whatsoever. Shi Chun's scalp instantly prickled with dread; he knew at once they had fallen into the maw's trap. Coincidentally, his right eye's supernatural ability vanished at that exact moment.

Being trapped in darkness was one thing, but they also felt their bodies plummeting, bumping and tumbling downward. Their weapons clattered noisily against unseen surfaces. By the light of the sparks they inadvertently struck, the two vaguely realized they were in a narrow crevice.

"Shi Chun!"

"Jinliang!"

Both spoke in unison, their voices filled with instinctive concern, immediately worried for each other's safety. Upon hearing each other, one looked up, the other down. Shi Chun, bracing his legs against the cliff walls, was looking down. Wu Jinliang, whose broadsword was wedged between the cliff walls, grasped the hilt and hung there, looking up. Upon seeing Shi Chun's movement, he pulled himself up with one arm, braced his feet against both sides, half-laying on his sword, and grinned from ear to ear.

One might panic alone, but having a companion, and seeing that companion was safe, they both breathed a sigh of relief. After quickly steadying themselves, they surveyed their surroundings. Both sides were dark, heavy stone walls, whose extraordinary hardness their swords had just tested. They didn't appear to be ordinary rock. The narrow space was very humid, with faint mist drifting and moisture clinging to the stone walls. The crevice's top was out of sight, its bottom unseen, and they had no idea where it ended horizontally.

Just moments ago, they were amidst a tense scene of swaying trees, and now, in broad daylight, they had suddenly shifted to a dark, incredibly narrow space. Wu Jinliang couldn't comprehend it. "Shi Chun, what is happening?"

"I don't know," Shi Chun replied. "I only saw a strange monster that seemed connected to the Chongji Crystal..." Shi Chun told him everything he had seen. The glowing sandalwood gold in his hand also shot downwards. It didn't fly very far, hitting a stone wall less than seventy *zhang* down. It hadn't reached an end; rather, due to the unevenness of the wall, the falling light revealed the downward crevice extending endlessly out of sight. The sandalwood gold clattered as it fell. Shi Chun didn't reach out to catch it, watching it descend with his head bowed. The light gradually faded until nothing could be seen. The sound of its fall grew fainter and fainter, eventually vanishing completely, leaving them unsure if it had ever reached the bottom.

Shi Chun retracted his legs and floated down onto the broadsword Wu Jinliang had wedged into the stone wall. He sheathed his own sword on his back and informed him, "I'll use my left eye again." Wu Jinliang's expression changed, aware of the consequences of Shi Chun using his left eye's supernatural ability too frequently. He also got up, sat cross-legged on his broadsword, and watched him.

Before activating his left eye's supernatural ability with blood energy again, Shi Chun's body swayed once more. He reached out and steadied himself against the stone wall, taking a deep breath. He felt the air here was very thin. He scanned his surroundings with his left eye, growing more surprised with each glance. Outside the crevice in the stone wall, there was absolutely nothing; it was a true void, lacking the misty blue background he sometimes saw, with only linear light specks that had already flashed by. Remarkably, the stone wall, as perceived by his left eye, appeared identical to its physical reality. This was a rare occurrence since his left eye gained its supernatural ability, as he seldom witnessed reality and illusion originating from the same source. Still, because the stone wall was uneven, his left eye couldn't discern an end or an exit in any direction.

After a long while, he spoke, "Jinliang, this accursed place isn't like the outside. I fear even immobilization talismans would lose their effect here."

Wu Jinliang was greatly surprised. "What's happening?"

Shi Chun replied, "Let's find a way out first."

Wu Jinliang, however, worried, "This place is endless. Are we going to be crushed to death here?"

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Shi Chun snapped, then bent down, grabbed Wu Jinliang's arm by the cuff, and tore off a strip of fabric.

Wu Jinliang curiously asked, "What are you doing? I've only worn these good clothes for a few days!"

Shi Chun extracted threads from the fabric, then took out grains of sandalwood gold, tied them on, and fastened them to Wu Jinliang's body in numerous spots. "The air here is thin; it's very possible there was originally no air, and it rushed in from the outside when this space opened. Free up your hands and feet, conserve strength, and it will be convenient for illumination."

"I see." In this pitch-black environment, it was an excellent idea. Wu Jinliang immediately followed suit, tying sandalwood gold onto Shi Chun's body. As more sandalwood gold was tied, their bodies grew increasingly luminous. The scene of the two of them together was quite heartwarming, and Wu Jinliang suddenly grinned.

Shi Chun asked, "What are you grinning foolishly about? You can still smile?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "I suddenly remembered when we were younger. They told us we'd grown up, our appetites were bigger, and we'd have to earn our own food from then on, then they gave us two broken knives. Later, when we were starving, we rushed out to fight desperately. Several of our companions died, and we were beaten half to death. Then one day, you said you wanted to seize the position of boss of East Siyuan. Do you remember what you told me?"

Shi Chun, still tying the sandalwood gold, paused slightly. Whether he truly forgot or not, he shook his head.

Wu Jinliang chuckled, "You said: 'From the day I picked up a knife and fought for my life, every mouthful I ate was something I seized myself.'"

Shi Chun frowned. "What time is it? Why bring that up now?"

Wu Jinliang said, "My point is, we will definitely get out of here. Don't give up."

Shi Chun rolled his eyes, tied another piece onto him, then discarded the torn cloth in his hand. "Alright, that's enough."

Wu Jinliang stopped, looking up, down, left, and right. "Which way do we go?" he asked.

"The path of least resistance, of course," Shi Chun said, looking down. "I simply don't believe there's truly a bottomless pit." With that, he leaped directly off the blade and descended.

"What's the rush? Wait!" Wu Jinliang quickly spread his legs to brace against both sides, gripped his sword, slung it over his shoulder, and also retracted his legs to jump down. It wasn't long before he suddenly found Shi Chun had once again spread his legs and wedged himself. He landed in front of Shi Chun, also wedging himself with his legs. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, his gaze fell upon the stone wall, and he froze: it was a mural! A monumental stone carving of unusual scale, depicting mountains, rivers, pavilions, and towers. He wondered who could have been so bored as to carve it. He immediately rejoiced, saying, "Someone carved a mural, which means there's a way out! Quick, look, quick, look!"

Then, like a glowing spider, he swiftly moved back and forth between the cliff walls, up and down, darting around like a duck wagging its tail – his movements incredibly quick. Shi Chun, meanwhile, moved slowly, examining the content of the cliff carvings on both sides. The stone walls were remarkably resistant; it was unusually difficult to make any marks on them. This artwork was truly significant; the person who created it must have had a very high cultivation level.

Suddenly, Wu Jinliang's voice echoed from diagonally above, "Shi Chun, over here, quick!" Shi Chun's gaze shifted downwards. He then floated sideways, quickly pushing off the stone wall with his foot, landing towards a meticulously carved cave entrance on the opposite side, resembling a grand courtyard gate. Inside, a flicker of light and shadow, Wu Jinliang emerged.