After both of them stood up, they looked around.
"It’s weird," Yuyan said, her voice soft as she surveyed the area. And then without warning she started to jump like a bunny, and with her tron clothes it caused two other rabbits to move as a large section of them were shown to them, Tian Lei also felt they might jump out of her shirt anytime out now, and reveal themselves in full glory, but unfortunately she stopped jumping.
"I can’t use my spirit energy here," she said, stopping and frowning.
Tian Lei wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve, muttering to himself, So that’s what you were doing, as he struggled to breathe. His nose bled again as he looked up at the snowy mountain peaks, now clearly visible due to her jumping.
"Tian Lei, you’re still bleeding!!" Yuyan exclaimed, rushing over to him. She quickly reached into her ring, preparing to give him another pill.
"No, I’m fine," he insisted, waving her off. "It was probably just a minor scratch," he added, trying to reassure her, but his nose spurted another bleed, as he saw her exposed thighs.
"you should change clothes first" he said after a moment of hesitation as Yuyan finally looked down, as her face turned red, she backed off from him as she waved her hand causing mist to appear and then using them as cover she changed the clothes, wearing a pristine and perfect dress.
"don’t worry I didn’t saw anything "It was better if he hadn’t said anything but hearing him, her face turned even redder but she just nodded and didn’t pursue the matter anymore.
He then looked around the cave as he wondered, Is this like the situation where the protagonist falls off the cliff and obtains an opportunity? He thought as he looked inside the cave, trying to use his spirit sense but wasn’t able to detect anything.
"is that!" Tian Lei suddenly exclaimed, causing Yuyan to look at him.
"What happened?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Tian Lei pointed ahead, his face lighting up. "Try using your spirit sense here."
Yuyan nodded and focused. Her expression quickly changed as she felt the heavy pressure from the dense, oppressive energy. "Such high-level formations... even the wall dividing the inner and outer sects doesn’t have this powerful formation!" she exclaimed in shock.
Tian Lei’s eyes widened as the realization hit him. "Yes, it might be a place where a powerful cultivators might have left his legacy. We should go and check it out," he suggested, his excitement clear in his voice.
Yuyan shook her head, disagreeing. "That’s not it. High-level cultivators have their pride; they wouldn’t gather in such a disgusting and lowly place."
She continued, "This looks more like a place where criminals are imprisoned."
Tian Lei considered her words but still felt a pull of curiosity. "So, it’s more of a prison?" he asked.
Yuyan nodded slowly. "It’s possible, but let’s check it out anyway. If there really is a criminal imprisoned here, we will be needed to report it back to the sect," she said, her tone resolute.
Tian Lei nodded, his excitement tempered with caution. "Alright, let’s go," he said.
The two moved cautiously toward the inner cave area, their steps light, as the oppressive spirit energy weighed heavily on them. With no animals or other lifeforms in sight, they were undisturbed by any external threats. The dense, energy-deprived atmosphere was unsettling,causing no spirit beast to live here but they pressed on.
As Tian Lei and Yuyan reached the end of the cave, they came upon a chained skeleton. It was eerily still, but the chains wrapped around its bones suggested it had been confined for a long time. Tian Lei couldn’t help but speak up.
"She’s probably been chained here for who knows how long," he said, eyeing the skeletal remains.
Yuyan looked at him curiously. "How do you know it’s a female?"
Tian Lei looked at the skeleton more closely. "Look at the waist. Women have wider pelvic bones than men. That’s how I can tell," he explained.
Yuyan stared at him for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "You know a lot about men and women," she remarked, her tone a bit teasing.
Tian Lei immediately flushed, his face turning red. "It’s not like that! I’m just interested in healing arts. I had to know these things for when I needed to help someone," he defended himself, his voice flustered.
Yuyan looked at him with a skeptical expression but didn’t comment further. However, the glint in her eyes suggested she was amused by his discomfort.
Tian Lei sighed inwardly. What a mess... He didn’t say anything else and just followed Yuyan as she moved closer to the chained skeleton.
She crouched down beside it and began to search the body for anything valuable, her movements deliberate as she checked for hidden treasures.
But as she touched the skeleton, something strange happened. Suddenly, the body jerked as though coming to life. Yuyan quickly jumped back in alarm, her eyes wide. The skeleton’s eyes, hollow as they were, flickered with an eerie light, and it began to emit a faint, ghostly energy.
Tian Lei instinctively gripped his sword, eyes narrowing. "Senior Sister, what’s happening?" he asked, his voice tense. What if this chained skeleton is actually a powerful criminal who had his soul sealed inside it? What if it possesses us now? His inner otaku jumped out and began to warn him.
Yuyan looked back at Tian Lei, her expression serious. "Be on guard," she said, stepping cautiously toward the skeleton as it shifted unnaturally. The air around them grew heavier, charged with a menacing energy that made Tian Lei’s instincts scream.
"Stay back, Tian Lei!" Yuyan ordered. "It might not be a simple corpse!"
The skeleton’s fingers twitched, rattling against the chains that held it in place. The faint glow in its eyes flickered more intensely. For a moment, it seemed like the spirit of the long-dead being might lash out at them.
Tian Lei’s heart raced. This is bad. If it’s really a cultivator’s soul trapped in that body, and now that it’s still alive, it could have unimaginable power... He steadied his breath, readying himself for whatever was about to happen next.
Suddenly, the skeleton’s head jerked upward, its eyes flickering to life in an unsettling manner. The right eye glowed with a deep, ominous black, while the left one shone with a brilliant white light. The contrast between the two was striking, creating an eerie, almost hypnotic effect.
For a brief moment, everything stood still. The air grew heavy, suffused with an unnatural energy as the skeleton’s eerie voice echoed through the cave.
"Finally... someone is here," it spoke, its voice raspy but filled with chilling clarity. The words seemed to reverberate off the cave walls, sending a shiver down Tian Lei’s spine.