Chapter Nineteen: Ghostly Fire in the Night (Part 3)

The hidden passage was unexpectedly spacious and well-lit. I took a step forward, unable to see any sign of Yi'er, and my heart filled with panic. I transformed the ice lotus into several spirit shields to guard myself.

An inexplicable fear arose from the surrounding darkness. My wound spread from my arm to my fingers, mingling with the sweat that dripped down. This trial-like outing made me acutely aware of the dangers outside the Skycloud Sect. At this moment, I could only hope that Yi'er was safe.

Several cold arrows shot out from the darkness, colliding with the spirit shields and producing crisp sounds.

As expected, this was not an exit.

To be precise, this was a "trap" they had prepared in advance. From the beginning, they had deliberately let Yi'er notice those mechanisms, intending to lure her to this prison. This was a place specifically used for raising monsters and practicing evil arts. Yi'er coming here was akin to a lamb entering a tiger's den.

Black energy crept up my arm, like tree roots invading my flesh and blood. My consciousness had mostly faded, and I vaguely heard urgent footsteps. Though I had the will to cast a spell, I lacked the strength. The faint buzzing noise filled my mind, turning everything before me into black and white.

This felt like a curse from an evil spirit, carrying all the sins and betrayals of the world, occupying my thoughts. Shadows flickered in my vision, eventually forming into a massive black beast that lunged at me.

"Can you not endure even this?"

I felt like a stranded fish, struggling desperately towards the ghostly blue light. That familiar voice was like a lifeline pulling me back into the ocean, and I swam towards it, heading for the surface where that figure stood.

"Without him, can you do nothing? So fragile. Even if he comes, you won't last. Better to come back and avoid more troublesome matters." The voice carried a tone of resignation, as if pitying my situation.

"Who are you? I remember seeing you when I was gravely injured last time. Do you know me?" This time, perhaps because the person wanted a response from me, I could finally speak.

The figure let out an ambiguous laugh, with a hint of mockery. "Does it matter? Remember, in your current state, you won't hold on until he comes to save you."

"I can hold on, no matter how long it takes!" His words angered me, my voice trembling.

At this moment, anger and fear melded into an irregular rhythm, stirring countless thoughts. But any imagination was useless. If I couldn't endure, it would mean death.

Therefore, I had to believe and use everything I had to accomplish what I believed in. Any hesitation or fantasy was the most useless thing.

But, to hold on, I had to turn the entire situation around.

According to ancient texts, a severely injured or unconscious cultivator who senses external danger can force themselves to wake up.

However, forcibly reconnecting the spirit and body came with a price: the user's soul and internal organs would be damaged, and improper control could lead to death by spiritual energy blockage.

At this point, self-rescue required a risky move.

I silently chanted the incantation, swiftly linking my thoughts to my external body and activating my spiritual power. But for some reason, the incantation that had been clear in my mind became fuzzy at the last few lines. I had to pull my spiritual power back.

"Is this your doing?" I looked up at him, the figure swaying gently on the water's surface, silent.

But I knew that at this point, only this mysterious person could have sealed part of my memory.

"Is it you? If you want me to hold on, why are you restraining my self-rescue?" I asked again.

"I never said I wanted you to hold on." He finally spoke, his words devoid of emotion, more like a self-narration.

"So, you came to tell me I have no hope?" A cold laugh escaped my throat naturally. I stared at the figure, resigned, and sighed. "If that's the case, I accept it. But I'm curious, are you a grudge from my past life, here to see me suffer?"

Splash...

I felt a force around my waist, and the surrounding water curtain suddenly disappeared. Before me was a handsome face, with eyes like the night sky, deep and starry, radiating a faint light from his pale blue robes.

He stared at me intently for a while, then leaned down and kissed me. The cool, soft touch brushed against my lips like a dragonfly skimming the water.

Before I could react, the scene around me began to fade and collapse. Several sharp curses pulled me back to the iron cell.

No, this isn't real.

The noisy memories, unsettled mind, slowly merged into a hallucination, like a yellowed page turning with a rustling sound, returning to chaos. When I calmed my mind, I found everything around me was as still as a lake, without a ripple.

It seemed they were certain I would die here. Despite my long unconsciousness, they hadn't sent anyone after me. Perhaps it was sheer luck that no monsters had come.

Could I have guessed wrong? No, the small pool of blood on the ground indicated a fierce battle had occurred while I was unconscious.

I looked down at the wound on my arm. The black smoke had completely dissipated, and I couldn't detect any abnormalities in my body. Even casting spells and regulating my breathing were surprisingly smooth.

I thought, perhaps the person in my dream really had a special connection with me. Maybe he helped dispel the resentment and evil energy… but how did he do it?

Suddenly, I remembered his inexplicable kiss, and my face flushed with heat.

The next time I see him, I must drag him into the water and give him a good thrashing! No, it seems he only appears in my dreams when I'm severely injured, as if he knows my consciousness is weak then and I wouldn't resist. I must be more careful and avoid such vulnerability.

Before I lost consciousness, I remember there were traps on the walls, with hidden mechanisms emitting faint wind sounds. The source of this power was above this wall, where they stored miscellaneous items. Could the secret be hidden there?

It's impossible to go back now, but I can't just sit here and wait to die. I deliberately made some noise to alert those above.

Someone responded, "Oh, struggling or begging for mercy? I'm curious if my beasts have ripped off your legs or pulled off your arms, so much so that you can't even beg for mercy."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm very much alive. In fact, I'll climb up there and beat your face into a braised pig's head. Just you wait." I retorted sharply.

The person above was obviously infuriated, stuttering several "you" before finally spitting out a complete sentence, "You little brat, I'll release a few more, then we'll see if you can still be so stubborn!"

"Fine, I'll be waiting." I replied unceremoniously, twirling the ice lotus in my hand.

This spacious place resembled a gladiator arena, but without spectators. Gladiator arenas are always life-and-death battles. As long as there are opposing opponents, it's a fight to the death.

With the sound of mechanisms and stone doors opening, the coarse breathing of giant beasts accompanied by earth-shaking footsteps entered the battlefield. Five lion-bodied beasts quickly surrounded me.

Lion bodies, eagle wings, fish-scale-like patterns, and necks covered in hedgehog-like spines—these beasts seemed stitched together, exactly like the one locked in the Skycloud Sect's secret cave three years ago.

Come to think of it, Ling Lu coming down to Luoyang was quite peculiar.

The five beasts growled aggressively, closing their circle tightly.

They were surprisingly intelligent, cooperating to encircle me instead of charging recklessly. This suited me just fine. If they attacked all at once, I had ways to make them entangle each other into a ball, but if I defeated them too quickly, more powerful beasts might be released. A prolonged fight would only drain my spiritual energy faster.

Since the mysterious figure in my dream said that as long as I held on, hope would come, my current goal was to delay as much as possible.

One beast couldn't hold back any longer and lunged at me with its maw wide open. I took a slight step back and used the ice lotus to create several protective barriers around me while directing a blast of cold air into its eyes. Temporarily blinded, it flailed about like an ant without feelers.

Having found their weakness, I planned to subdue them one by one. However, they changed their strategy. The remaining four pushed the blinded beast to the back and began tearing at it. As its wails grew fainter, the other four emerged transformed, with blood-red eyes, scales, and spikes, appearing even more terrifying.

One of the remaining four stepped forward to fight me while the others watched.

This one was no longer afraid of my cold attacks. Whenever I used ice spells, it countered with flames. I had to resort to transforming the ice lotus into a sword to maintain a stalemate. The flickering firelight in its eyes made it hard to tell how much time had passed.

I couldn't even recall how I defeated the first one. They seemed to grow stronger by devouring each other. After defeating the second, I was too exhausted to face the third. My body was soon covered in deep gashes, and fresh wounds opened up under sharp teeth.

Blood gushed from the searing pain, flowing towards the darkened riverbank.