After acquiring the Cloud-hidden Sword and the Red Lotus Soft Armor, Ling Chen and Xiao Muyu left the secret chamber.
Afterwards, they discovered several hidden rooms with traps on their journey. Some rooms were empty, while the contents of others had already decayed and were unusable.
Despite this, Ling Chen and Xiao Muyu managed to obtain some Elixirs and resources. Overall, their haul was quite decent.
Reaching the end of a corridor, Ling Chen’s eyes suddenly lit up. He sensed that the wall before him wasn’t a dead end. After he found and activated a nearby mechanism, the wall slid open to both sides. "There seems to be an exit up ahead," he observed.
Before them, an unobstructed view opened up.
Their vision broadened instantly. An extremely wide area appeared before them, dotted with massive wooden stakes. These stakes soared skyward, packed tightly together, forming numerous winding passages. They had no idea where these passages led.
The dense field of stakes spanned an area seven to eight hundred meters in length and width. Across this expanse of wooden stakes, they spotted a giant stone door, half-open. Clearly, someone had already passed through and successfully navigated the stone door.
Ling Chen wasn’t surprised by this. The younger generation members who had entered the Tienzong Ruins were formidable individuals, full of hidden talents. Even if someone was ahead of him, it wasn’t surprising.
Xiao Muyu gazed at the half-open stone door, her spirits lifting. "We’ve found the exit!" she exclaimed.
Ling Chen didn’t let the sight of the exit cloud his judgment. He stopped Xiao Muyu, who was about to enter the field of stakes, and pointed below them. "Look underneath these stakes."
Stopping in her tracks, Xiao Muyu peered down below the stakes. Chilly glints of light reflected off countless sharp Long Spears arranged tips-up, so densely packed that anyone falling would surely be impaled until they resembled a honeycomb.
"With our Light Skill, we shouldn’t fall off the stakes, right?"
Although Xiao Muyu felt a little apprehensive, she believed that crossing this stake formation with her Mysterious Trace Steps wouldn’t be a major issue.
"It’s hard to say," Ling Chen said. "If there were no traps, we’d naturally have no problem crossing."
As he spoke, Ling Chen retrieved three Flying Daggers from his Heavenly Mansion Sword and hurled them forward.
The three Flying Daggers flew on different paths in three different directions.
Two of the Flying Daggers met no resistance, eventually losing momentum and falling. However, the third one triggered a trap mid-flight.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Several wooden stakes suddenly collapsed. Simultaneously, Long Spears shot up from beneath the stake array, engulfing the Flying Dagger. Had it been an unprepared person, they would undoubtedly have been killed on the spot.
"These Tienzong people were truly twisted," Xiao Muyu said, a look of shock crossing her pretty face. "Even after their deaths, they still leave behind so many traps and pitfalls. It’s like they deliberately want to harm people." If not for Ling Chen’s caution, they might have charged blindly into the stake formation, and the outcome would likely have been dire.
"We can’t say that," Ling Chen replied, shaking his head. "The purpose of these traps is likely to filter those who enter these ruins. Without genuine skill, one would either be trapped to die in the maze we just passed or perish in this stake formation." These were merely appetizers. If one couldn’t even pass this first hurdle, it was better to turn back sooner rather than later, because the trials ahead would only become progressively harder and more perilous.
"Muyu, stay right behind me. Step where I step. If I trigger a trap, get away immediately." After instructing Xiao Muyu, Ling Chen leaped nimbly into the stake formation, advancing by stepping on the stakes.
Xiao Muyu dared not be negligent. She followed closely behind Ling Chen, jumping onto a stake, her pretty face taut with concentration as she cautiously followed him.
This stake formation was riddled with traps, far from ordinary. Even with Ling Chen’s strong Mental Power and heightened sensitivity to traps compared to ordinary people, he didn’t dare move too quickly. Otherwise, if he triggered a trap, he’d have no time to react.
Using Flying Daggers to scout the path was only a temporary solution. It was impossible to use them to probe every direction. Moreover, the Flying Daggers only revealed the most superficial traps; many deeper, hidden traps couldn’t be detected that way.
For instance, Thunder Firestones were buried beneath some stakes; stepping on them would trigger an explosion.
Below the stakes, traces of corpses and even fragmented remains were visible. Evidently, many from the younger generation had triggered traps here and died without their bodies intact.
Proceeding with such caution, the two slowly neared the stone door.
"We’re almost there." Xiao Muyu wiped away cold sweat and finally breathed a sigh of relief. This terrifying stake formation was finally behind them.
However, just then, the wooden stake beneath Ling Chen’s foot suddenly gave way with a CRACK!
Not good! Ling Chen thought, his heart sinking, and instinctively leaped into the air. Sure enough, a series of sharp, deadly Long Spears shot up from beneath him at astonishing speed.
Xiao Muyu abruptly halted. She then saw several sharp Long Spears also hurtling down from above Ling Chen’s head, forming a pincer attack.
"Watch out above!" Xiao Muyu shrieked.
At this point, Ling Chen also sensed the chilling intent from above. He glanced up, quickly memorizing the positions of the Long Spears, and his body reacted instantly. With the Cloud-hidden Sword in hand, he began to spin.
If his memory of their positions was off by even the slightest margin, the Long Spears would have pierced straight through his body.
Ling Chen spun like a whirlwind. Over a dozen Long Spears passed mere inches from him. The Long Spear closest to him was deflected by the body of the Cloud-hidden Sword, brushing past his side.
By a hair’s breadth, Ling Chen avoided the two waves of Long Spear traps, landing smoothly on the stone platform on the other side.
"That was so close!" Seeing Ling Chen was unharmed, Xiao Muyu finally patted her heaving chest, her heart still pounding from the terror of that moment. That was far too close. If not for Ling Chen’s lightning-fast reflexes and flawless movements, he would have become another corpse beneath the stakes.
"Let’s go. We should get out of here."
Having had a narrow escape, Ling Chen also let out a sigh of relief. His gaze fell beyond the stone door, and a sharp glint of determination appeared in his eyes. They had overcome this trial. Now, it was time to reap the fruits of their victory.
The two figures flickered and then darted out through the stone door.
The moment they stepped out, their field of vision expanded suddenly.
Before their eyes was a lush green mountain forest.
This appeared to be the rear mountain of the Tienzong. Sunlight streamed down from the Rift Valley above, causing the plants here to radiate Life Force.
The tranquil mountain forest was, as expected, devoid of any disturbance. Ling Chen and Xiao Muyu passed through it smoothly. As they ascended this small hill, they finally let out quiet sighs of relief. Looking ahead, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted towards them.
Before Ling Chen and Xiao Muyu was a crystal-clear lake. In the center of the lake, there was a small pool constructed from Jade stones. Numerous medicinal herbs grew within this small pool, and from their appearance, all were of high quality.
"I never thought there’d be a medicinal pool here!" Xiao Muyu exclaimed, her face alight with pleasant surprise.
A joyful expression also touched Ling Chen’s eyes. He moved swiftly to the edge of the medicinal pool, his gaze sweeping across it before fixing on a black medicinal herb within. The herb resembled a small, coiled serpent. A chilling aura emanated from it, even causing a layer of frost to cover the nearby surface of the pool, making it look quite peculiar.
"It’s Shadowless Grass!" Ling Chen’s eyes lit up instantly.
Although Shadowless Grass doesn’t have many other significant uses, it possesses an unparalleled effect in refining stubborn Energies within the body. By consuming the Shadowless Grass, Ling Chen could completely refine all the remaining Heavenly Shadow Poison in his body.