Re-resolved?

Good gracious, could you please not use such a casual tone to say this!

Qian Que’s legs nearly went weak as he almost knelt down before Jian Chou.

Why…

Why was it nothing like what he’d imagined?

Where had that gentle and mild “Fairy Wuchou” gone?

Such… such a terrifying leg!!!

This scene gave him a particularly strange sense of familiarity.

However, when Qian Que tried to think carefully, he had no idea where this familiarity came from.

Thinking how he had initially judged her to be a second-generation heir dressed in beautiful clothes, Qian Que wished he could return to that moment and hang up his past self, who had harbored thoughts of “fleecing a fat sheep,” giving himself three hundred severe beatings!

Fleece?

With what?

Slash at those iron-hard thighs and have the blade bounce back to smash his head?

Qian Que felt he hadn’t lived enough yet.

With an almost reverent gaze, Qian Que wore a dreamlike expression as he looked at Jian Chou.

The crisis that had just hung over everyone’s necks like a bone-piercing sword had vanished without a trace under Jian Chou’s seemingly casual yet terrifyingly powerful leg strike.

The huge crack seemed to have never existed.

Jian Chou still stood quietly in place, her face showing little expression, looking calm as if she had done nothing at all.

Gulp.

Someone seemed to have swallowed.

Qian Que also unconsciously touched his throat, then looked behind him.

The three people, including Pei Qian, all looked at Jian Chou, yet none showed any reaction, as if…

That swallowing sound had just been his imagination.

Were they swallowing, or was he swallowing?

Qian Que himself was confused.

Their hands still supported above their heads, motionless like statues, and so did Jian Chou.

After a long while, Zhou Qingyun was the first to find her voice, asking hesitantly: “Is… is she still alive?”

Hearing this, Jian Chou glanced at Zhou Qingyun, raised an eyebrow, pondered briefly, then said: “Don’t know. But what does it matter to me?”

Don’t know.

But what does it matter to me?

Such a casual statement.

Having just swept away the Jianzhu Sect with one leg, she now truly acted as if she had done no evil.

The disdain faintly revealed in this sentence was even more chilling.

Both breadth of mind and spirit were present, pride and severity coexisting.

Even though she merely stood in this narrow, dark Black Wind Cave, everyone suddenly felt a sense of looking up at an unreachable mountain.

Pei Qian’s gaze was extremely complex.

He hesitated for a while before sighing: “In the past, many elders in my sect said that Central Region’s Left Three Thousand was a place that specialized in producing brilliant talents. I didn’t believe it. In the vast Nineteen Continents, how many talents are there? Only now, having met Fellow Daoist Wuchou, do I realize that my former self was a frog at the bottom of a well.”

Hearing his sentimental tone, Jian Chou looked at him strangely.

What surfaced in Jian Chou’s mind was only the scene from that critical moment earlier.

As a disciple of the Yang Sect, one of the four major sects in the Northern Region, Pei Qian had emanated an opposite aura at the moment of crisis.

If previously he had given the impression of southern mountains and northern waters, at that moment he felt like northern mountains and southern waters – one yang, one yin.

Like dark clouds obscuring the rising sun.

Though it lasted only a brief instant, Jian Chou believed her perception wouldn’t be wrong.

Northern Region’s Yang Sect and Northern Region’s Yin Sect were two sects in constant conflict, with cultivation methods almost opposite.

This Pei Qian gave the impression…

Was he really from the Yang Sect or Yin Sect?

Jian Chou slowly concealed the inquiry in her eyes: “People look up to people, people look down on people. You see me and feel like a frog at the bottom of a well – how do you know that when I see you another day, I won’t feel myself like a frog at the bottom of a well?”

Her light voice carried peaceful humility, making one feel like basking in a spring breeze.

However…

To Pei Qian’s ears, it carried an indescribable deeper meaning.

He wasn’t sure if Jian Chou had guessed something.

Pei Qian lowered his eyes and smiled: “Fellow Daoist Wuchou speaks truly.”

Hearing these two speak so profoundly, Qian Que felt his head growing big.

Seeing that the danger behind them was resolved, though the method was somewhat shocking, it was ultimately settled.

“Time is of the essence – we should hurry! Just these last few chi, fellow Daoists, we’re about to succeed!”

Qian Que’s voice became excited.

Qin Lang and Zhou Qingyun both looked at Jian Chou with complex and curious gazes, obviously having begun speculating in their hearts.

But…

When had such a formidable female cultivator emerged from the Central Region’s Left Three Thousand?

Even if the widely rumored Senior Sister of Yashan probably wasn’t this powerful, right?

Who exactly was she?

To possess…

Such a leg.

Forget it – thinking and thinking without understanding, the two roughly knew this person should have backing. Since they couldn’t figure it out, they simply stopped thinking and followed Qian Que, investing their last bit of energy into the formation.

Jian Chou also gathered her focus as the five worked together to maintain the formation.

At this moment, no one spoke anymore.

Because everyone knew success was right before their eyes.

Whoosh…

The black wind howled wildly.

One chi, two chi…

The stronger the wind became, the more resistance Jian Chou felt from the formation, the brighter her eyes became. She couldn’t help but narrow them, looking toward the front illuminated by Qian Que’s pearl.

Black Wind Cave was truly too dark, as if something was devouring light itself. As they went deeper, the range the pearl could illuminate became increasingly narrow.

The entire cave initially seemed to extend straight inward, but now Jian Chou could feel that the ground beneath their feet had become an inclined slope, just as shown in Zhilin Sou’s map.

At their current position of ninety-nine chi, it had indeed become “wind like blades that can peel skin.”

On the ground were vague black protrusions, like stones one after another.

Qian Que stomped his feet and quickly looked down, immediately saying with delight: “There were Wind-Swallowing Stones here.”

However, he then sighed and shook his head: “Pity they’re all from the past – now they’ve been collected by others. Probably still ahead…”

Gritting his teeth, Qian Que directly took out a pill and put it in his mouth. Then spiritual energy flowed from his hands, actually forcing that pearl to shine brilliantly once more!

Swoosh!

Blazing light shot out, finally pushing back some of the heavy darkness.

Thus, everyone could finally see the ground five or six chi ahead.

From near to far, the protruding stones on the ground became increasingly numerous.

Jian Chou looked carefully and saw that these stones all showed a rounded shape, like smooth pebbles, seemingly black throughout, but when one looked intently, deep purple energy could be seen flowing within.

Each Wind-Swallowing Stone had holes of various sizes, as if bitten by insects.

The fierce wind from Black Wind Cave blew out from inside, striking each stone and producing hollow sounds like bamboo flutes, carrying an almost mournful whimpering.

Standing at this ninety-nine chi position, all five felt their hair standing on end.

Each Wind-Swallowing Stone seemed like a wailing ghost…

This illumination nearly scared Qian Que to death. He cursed loudly: “Spent so many spirit stones, and he didn’t even explain clearly how frightening it is inside! Zhilin Sou, Zhilin Sou my ass! This is Zhizhang Sou (Mentally Challenged Old Man)!”

“…”

Hearing this, Jian Chou’s mouth twitched.

In this instant, she felt Qian Que was a rare oddball in all the Nineteen Continents.

Nearby, Pei Qian kindly reminded: “I heard Zhilin Sou has eyes and ears throughout the world…”

“Bah!”

Qian Que glared.

“After taking someone’s spirit stones, you can’t even let them complain? So what if I call him Zhizhang Sou? If anyone finds out later, it must be you who tattled! I’m blaming you all!”

“…”

Finally, even Pei Qian stopped talking.

The world returned to the quiet of only ghostly wails.

Jian Chou said, “What Zhilin Sou’s map stated about one hundred chi being the boundary probably doesn’t mean immediate change. The black wind in Black Wind Cave changes gradually. Since we can hold on now, taking two more steps should be fine. What do fellow Daoists think?”

Taking someone’s money meant eliminating their troubles. Besides, everyone wanted to experience the power inside Black Wind Cave. At worst, they’d just get blown by the wind, lose some skin and flesh, and get blown out.

When Jian Chou made this suggestion, no one objected. Everyone quickly reached consensus and continued carefully moving inward.

One step, two steps, three steps…

The whooshing wind, mixed with the ghostly wails from Wind-Swallowing Stones, roared outside their formation.

Jian Chou’s earlier Overturning Heaven Seal had already drained most of the spiritual energy from her body. She couldn’t contribute much strength now and could only maintain steady spiritual power input into the formation.

Each step seemed so difficult.

However, Jian Chou’s gaze became increasingly bright.

As they advanced, they could see more things.

Countless Wind-Swallowing Stones were scattered on the ground ahead.

Initially sparse, then dense, but further ahead, they became sparse again, with only flat ground beyond.

However, at the limit of vision, Jian Chou vaguely saw several broken weapons embedded in the cave walls.

They could only be called broken weapons.

They were embedded in the cave walls in various positions.

Some were blades, some swords, some spears, some hooks, even a trident… But without exception, each artifact looked rusty and covered with countless gaps, basically reduced to scrap metal.

That they could still exist before Jian Chou and the others was only thanks to their materials.

But Jian Chou also believed that in a few more years, they too would slowly disappear in this blade-like black wind.

Amid the whimpering sounds, Jian Chou’s gaze gradually looked farther.

This was probably why cultivators outside said people could pick up artifacts inside, right?

But…

Were these artifacts left by cultivators who perished in the cave, or did Black Wind Cave originally contain them?

This deep Black Wind Cave, on Zhilin Sou’s map, only went down one thousand three hundred chi.

Did Black Wind Cave have a bottom?

And what would it be like?

A series of questions left Jian Chou in strange confusion.

Here, seeing Wind-Swallowing Stones not far ahead, Qian Que was almost moved to tears.

Damn, this business trip was too difficult!

His tongue moved, and the pill he’d been holding in his mouth immediately dissolved under pressure. A warm current instantly flowed into the meridians throughout his body. Qian Que’s eyes immediately burst with brilliant light as he expelled breath and shouted: “Stones come!”

“Whoosh!”

One hand withdrew from the formation. With a great sleeve sweep, a fierce wind swept outward, actually uprooting those stones from the ground like pulling radishes!

Attracted by Qian Que’s great sleeve and pushed by the fierce wind behind, each Wind-Swallowing Stone turned into deep purple streams of light, drilling into Qian Que’s sleeve!

In the blink of an eye, the area in front of Qian Que was cleared.

He didn’t stop, sweeping his sleeve toward another area. Another section of the cave wall immediately became empty.

This method was simply like bandits raiding a village!

Everyone watching was amazed.

Qian Que truly deserved to be Qian Que – risking his life for materials and spirit stones!

With hearts full of admiration, everyone didn’t fall behind and used their methods.

Qin Lang opened his mouth and spat out a small banner. It grew large in the wind, rolled toward the ground, and immediately collected a patch of Wind-Swallowing Stones.

Zhou Qingyun shook her beautiful hair, and a hairpin originally in her hair immediately fell to the ground. After a light “clang,” the entire floor of Black Wind Cave trembled. Several Wind-Swallowing Stones near the hairpin immediately bounced up!

Qin Lang quickly controlled his small banner to roll again, helping Zhou Qingyun collect the Wind-Swallowing Stones.

Seeing everyone acting, Pei Qian also became interested. Without lowering his hand supporting the formation, he lightly hooked his little finger in a certain direction. With a “whoosh,” a Wind-Swallowing Stone immediately jumped from the ground into Pei Qian’s palm.

He looked at it carefully for a few moments, as if studying it closely, but made no further moves.

Also temporarily inactive was Jian Chou, standing beside him.

However…

Though Jian Chou didn’t move, the little marten that had been silently perched on her shoulder could no longer restrain itself. Holding that jade bowl, its eyes glowing as it stared outside the formation, extremely anxious.

She naturally felt the little marten’s desire.

Looking at the pile of junk ahead, Jian Chou sighed inwardly but still nodded slightly.

Seeing this, the little marten immediately wanted to cheer loudly, but remembering Jian Chou’s previous instructions, it quickly covered its marten mouth with both paws holding the jade bowl, stopping in time.

Then, with a powerful push of its legs, the little marten immediately darted out.

This startled Qian Que and the others.

The little marten was extremely fast, immediately passing through the formation and moving unobstructed through the black wind, seemingly completely unafraid. Instead, it ran off freely.

With its mouth, it picked up a Wind-Swallowing Stone from the ground, bit it with its teeth to extract it, looked at it casually with seeming disinterest, then simply dropped the stone into the jade bowl and charged toward the front again.

Target—

The countless pieces of junk on the walls!

Just as expected…

Jian Chou twitched her mouth corners fiercely.

But for Qian Que and the others, this scene was no longer something they could dismiss with just twitching mouth corners.

A marten…

This marten was unharmed in the black wind!

Look at this agile and graceful figure, picking up this piece then grabbing that, moving back and forth between Jian Chou and the distant pile of junk. Soon, a large pile of broken artifacts had accumulated before Jian Chou.

Qian Que felt his brain was a bit muddled today, as if someone had stuck his head in a door crack and pinched it ten thousand times.

A little marten, ordinary and unremarkable, perched on Fairy Wuchou’s shoulder…

So fierce!

Crazy!

These Nineteen Continents had gone crazy!

He couldn’t survive here anymore!

Wearing clothes woven from Yin-Yang spider silk, using the extraordinary Liwai Mirror, possessing the bearing of prestigious origins and ruthless decisiveness, even having those invulnerable long legs…

Right now, there was also an insanely fierce little marten.

Hehe…

Qian Que felt he’d lived his whole life like a pig.

In this instant, he wanted to grab Jian Chou’s collar and roar: Say it! How many more magical artifacts do you have? How many more ultimate techniques? Use them all and let me die completely satisfied!

Unfortunately…

With both hands currently occupied, this could only remain a fantasy in his mind.

Even the well-traveled Pei Qian from the Northern Region was speechless at this moment.

Jian Chou glanced at the little marten “whooshing” through countless pieces of scrap metal, her voice dreamlike as she said: “Fellow Daoists, please don’t laugh. My family’s marten isn’t very… presentable…”

With such a disgraceful appearance.

“…”

Everyone was finally completely speechless.

If this was unpresentable, how high must the standards in your family be!

Qian Que felt grief and indignation but could only channel it into strength, pretending not to see the little marten and frantically swinging his sleeves outward!

The magical artifacts aren’t mine, the invincible long legs aren’t mine, the marten isn’t mine, but the Wind-Swallowing Stones are mine!

Mine, mine, all mine!

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

Sleeves swinging wildly, Qian Que harvested Wind-Swallowing Stones at his lifetime’s fastest speed!

Jian Chou took in this scene but made no moves.

She had little interest in Wind-Swallowing Stones.

Taking advantage of everyone resuming stone collection, she couldn’t help but look around again. Unexpectedly, this glance revealed something she hadn’t noticed before.

Not far from where they stood, a long sword was deeply embedded in the cave wall!

Above that sword on the stone wall, several deep-seal characters were carved—

Black Wind Cave, One Hundred Chi!

Jian Chou’s heart shook.

This sword seemed like a marker, left by someone who had once entered Black Wind Cave.

Around this sword, besides those five large characters, there were many small characters densely carved.

The stone wall, carved by the blade-like black wind, had become extremely hard. Each character seemed branded on it, some elegant, some wild, some neat…

Different handwriting, seemingly carved at different times by different people.

Arranged from right to left.

“Black Wind Cave’s black wind truly lives up to its reputation. Today, reaching this place, I still have strength remaining. I insert my sword at this hundred chi mark to show later comers. I will continue forward to explore the path.”

“Spat blood three times, stopped here. Difficult, so difficult.”

“Exhausted here, can’t walk anymore. Damn, I’m going back.”

“Zhuang Hao was here.”

“Fellow Daoist Zhuang from Wuyi Sect? How fortunate, how fortunate.”

“You all are pathetic. This master drinks wine with each step, treading this place like a heavenly highway!”

“What’s a hundred chi worth? The false monk speaks arrogantly! I must go in and see how far you walked!”

“One hundred chi.”

…

Line after line of characters.

Around this hundred chi sword marker, it truly showed all aspects of life.

It seemed these people had all reached Black Wind Cave at different times, leaving inscriptions both old and new.

Some came easily, others retreated, knowing the difficulty…

Reading line by line, Jian Chou suddenly felt an incredibly wonderful sensation.

Her gaze gradually moved across the stone wall, then finally stopped.

On the stone wall, several vigorous and powerful large characters were carved.

“What is one defeat worth? My life has limits, but cultivation is limitless. The day of my comeback cannot be known.”

Following to the left was a line of crooked characters.

“Fellow Daoists, the one on the right is Zhou Chenjiang from Dragon Gate. Half an hour ago, I saw him go in!”

The later characters became increasingly recent.

Someone passing the hundred chi mark also left characters sighing: “Ten years of glory as the first person, in one day taken by Kunwu’s heaven-favored son. Zhou Chenjiang of Dragon Gate, lamentable and pitiful.”

“…”

Zhou Chenjiang had actually been here too.

“What is one defeat worth? The day of my comeback cannot be known.”

He was ultimately still a person with spirit and great ambition.

Jian Chou smiled slightly and finally withdrew her gaze, looking toward the deeper parts of Black Wind Cave.

She wondered where those who left inscriptions at the hundred chi mark had ultimately stopped.

And she…

How far could she go?

After brief consideration, Jian Chou suddenly pointed her fingers like a blade and left four characters on that hundred chi wall—