The voice paused, then laughed casually: “I just won’t come out. What can you do about it?”
Qing Xia frowned—the way this person spoke was just like a child. Her thoughts raced as she tried to figure out this mysterious person’s identity, but she had no clues at all. Concentrating and holding her breath, she used her full hearing capacity to search around, yet felt that in this enormous cavern, the person’s presence seemed to be everywhere but nowhere real at the same time, making her feel somewhat bewildered.
She had encountered many strange situations in her life. When she used to go on missions with the supernatural agents from Military Intelligence Division 11, she had seen extraordinary things, but never had she been so passive. She could only hear the person laughing wildly, as if he had never encountered such an amusing thing in his entire life. Qing Xia lowered her brows in contemplation but couldn’t find any way to escape, nor did she know whether this person was good or evil, friend or foe, so she didn’t know how to react.
For a moment, only the person’s wild laughter echoed in the cavern, the sound thundering like a sudden clap on level ground, stirring up large clouds of dust.
“You stinking girl! Who are you? Don’t you know this is a forbidden area of Penglai Valley? Hongshan Water Prison is pressing down above—you dare to break in here, do you want to die?” The person’s voice was full of magnetism, and though it showed age, it still revealed a kingly bearing.
Hearing his words, he seemed to be defending Penglai Valley, questioning her like he was accusing her of a crime, yet his tone was quite mocking, with a somewhat gloating meaning. Thinking of him being imprisoned underground for decades, she immediately had a plan, saying coldly: “So what about Penglai Valley? They’re nothing but a group of reputation thieves. I killed the Hongshan guards and freed the prisoners precisely to make trouble for Penglai. If you have the ability, stand out and fight me!”
The voice paused upon hearing Qing Xia’s words, remaining silent for a long time. After a while, he said gravely: “Girl, Penglai Valley is far from as simple as you imagine. The Seven Qingpeng Divisions have influence throughout the world, controlling wind and rain. The Money and Grain Divisions have long resided among the common people, helping countless civilians—they’re seen as living bodhisattvas by the world. Aren’t you afraid of retaliation for speaking this way?”
Qing Xia no longer had any doubts. Thinking that to get out of this cavern she would need to rely on this old guide, she snorted coldly with a light tone carrying slight mockery: “What is right or wrong, good or evil—I naturally have my own scale in my heart and don’t need others’ interference. Penglai Valley has been passed down for over a thousand years, hiding dark mysteries within. How could those poor common people crawling in the marketplace see clearly? The hypocritical faces of the so-called Seven Qingpeng Divisions are nothing but fooling the people.”
The voice in the darkness was slightly startled, saying doubtfully: “Girl, speaking such rebellious words on Penglai’s territory—you really have tremendous courage!”
Qing Xia’s lips curved in a slight smile as everything immediately connected in her mind, and she understood seven or eight parts of the old man’s temperament. She snorted coldly and said gravely: “There are quite a few people in this world who want to deal with me. You Penglai folks aren’t the first and won’t be the last, but it depends on whether you have that ability.”
A burst of rough laughter immediately arose as the person said loudly: “What an arrogant girl! I’ve been cooped up in this godforsaken place for thirty years, never expecting such an insolent character to emerge in the world. But strength isn’t something you just talk about—you need to show real ability to convince people.”
Qing Xia laughed coldly: “If that’s the case, please show yourself, senior, and test this junior’s true worth!”
“Good!” The earth-shaking voice suddenly rang out, immediately like a thunderclap exploding beside Qing Xia’s ears. Having gone three days without a drop of water and severely exhausted, Qing Xia was nearly unsteady on her feet from the old man’s shout, her face immediately turning somewhat pale. She quickly concentrated and prepared defensively, holding her blade ready. Suddenly, she heard tremendous explosive sounds. Qing Xia’s figure immediately shot up like a great bird, barely dodging the old man’s powerful attack.
Gray-black stone blocks immediately scattered throughout the cavern like an ocean, with dust permeating everywhere like seawater. The originally spacious enormous cavern instantly seemed filled with surging waves, crashing and colliding, overwhelming like mountains and seas. Fierce winds howled everywhere like ghostly wails, filled with the thick smell of sulfur. The strong winds came like sharp knives toward where Qing Xia was hiding, black hurricanes spinning and turning in midair, instantly forming a massive tornado that crashed down on Qing Xia’s head!
How could Qing Xia have expected this person to attack without warning, using such earth-shaking methods that defied common reasoning?
In that split second, Qing Xia’s thoughts raced, but she couldn’t think of any possible identity. She saw great winds stirring everywhere with deadly energy permeating. She felt endless icy, evil forces continuously attacking from all directions, each force balanced and even, making it impossible to distinguish where the opponent actually was. But at this moment, even if that person appeared before Qing Xia, she had no strength to respond or fight back. The opponent’s strength far exceeded her imagination. Moving and turning, stepping through empty air, ghostlike as she brushed past those streams of true energy whirlwinds—the danger was such that even someone as bold as Qing Xia couldn’t help but break out in cold sweat.
A mass of blood-red energy waves immediately coiled and flicked like an ancient dragon snake, dancing up and down provocatively at Qing Xia. The voice laughed loudly: “Girl, playing cat and mouse with grandpa? You run so fast!”
With that, an energy wave immediately shot skyward. A massive stone block weighing over a thousand pounds in the corner instantly rose like a feather in the wind, chasing after Qing Xia.
Qing Xia was shocked and pale. This was the first time in years she had encountered such supernatural skills that completely defied physical science, breaking through the limits of human capability—just like that invulnerable old man she had met at Division 11, possessing tremendous, unfathomable explosive power.
Seeing the stone block’s immeasurable weight gaining even more威力 under the hurricane’s propulsion, Qing Xia knew that being hit by it would cost her most of her life if not kill her outright. Without hesitation, she ran and leaped, her form graceful, her blue shirt fluttering, her black hair dancing in the wind, appearing elegant and swift beyond compare. If not for the deadly stone block chasing behind her, she would have quite the bearing of an immortal.
“Bang!” The massive stone block crashed violently against a stone wall in the cavern, sending up large sparks that scattered everywhere. The old man laughed heartily: “Green mountains cannot block the way, the great river still flows east! Girl, to withstand more than ten moves with ordinary martial arts—you truly are talented in this path. Such a pity you’re a woman, otherwise you could inherit my teachings!”
With that, the hurricane he controlled immediately swept over like a tremendous flood. Qing Xia suddenly felt her entire body wrapped in that torrent, her limbs bound by energy waves, like a non-swimmer drowning in the ocean—chest tight and blocked, qi and blood surging throughout her body, a sweet metallic taste in her throat. Looking back, that massive stone block was nimble as a flying swallow, about to strike her back directly.
Qing Xia was greatly alarmed. Her form suddenly dropped, avoiding it by a hair’s breadth. As the stone block headed toward the wall, Qing Xia quickly retreated, fearing collateral damage. Who knew that just as the stone block was about to hit the wall, it suddenly stopped its momentum in an impossible manner, turned around, and struck at Qing Xia again!
Qing Xia’s brows knitted tightly as she watched the stone block moving forward and back, left and right, yet with unparalleled speed, graceful as a great bird. Though this person’s allegiance was unclear, Qing Xia still felt a trace of admiration rise in her heart, thinking this person’s comprehension of martial arts was simply incredible. Her own fighting techniques seemed like a child’s game compared to his.
Qing Xia had always been an atheist, but at this moment, she couldn’t help but wonder—was this old man in the ravine human or ghost?
The old man immediately laughed loudly: “A teachable child indeed!”
Seeing that the stone block wasn’t pursuing her anymore but just hanging back in the distance, Qing Xia felt great goodwill and called out: “Thank you, senior! But I still have urgent matters. Could senior please tell me the path out of this cavern? After I finish my business, I will definitely return to rescue senior from this prison!”
The old man laughed long and heartily: “If I could get out, I wouldn’t need to stay in this pitch-black cave hole like a rat, never seeing daylight. Since you’ve come here, just obediently keep this old man company! We can spar and exchange moves daily—isn’t that quite interesting?” With that, another burst of hearty laughter.
Qing Xia felt frustrated. Actually, seeing this old man’s methods but still being trapped here, she knew things were definitely not as simple as she had imagined. But she didn’t lose heart, thinking that if there really was no way out, at worst she could crawl back the original way and figure out how to swim up from Hongshan Water Prison. Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but look around, wanting to find the old man’s hiding place. If she could capture him, she could naturally leave here. But seeing the old man’s appearance of having found a fun toy, escaping probably wouldn’t be so simple.
“Girl, stop thinking about it. Hongshan Water Prison is three hundred and seventy zhang deep with countless mechanisms inside. You walked in normally before, so naturally you didn’t notice. Back then, that old bastard Liang Sicai specially set up the Mountain and River Eternal Silence Lock that would destroy everything together to prevent prison incidents. When the stone lock opens, gods and ghosts are annihilated, mountains and rivers fall silent—no one can escape from those ruins. Three days ago, I felt the vibrations and knew someone would be coming down to keep this old man company.” The old man immediately laughed mockingly with gloating, though it was laughter, the voice carried unconcealed sorrow and loneliness.