One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

Chapter 175 Re-entering Lingyun Cave

The thick fog, chaotic spiritual energy, and distorted sense of space felt as if they were being brutally torn apart and smoothed out by an invisible hand the moment I stepped into the area directly beneath the Buddha's head.

Nie Lingfeng pulled Chen Duo along and took a step forward. The scene before him suddenly became clear, yet it was so unfamiliar that it made his heart stop.

There was no enormous Buddha statue carved into the mountainside as I had imagined, no familiar mottled rock walls washed day and night by the river, and no entrance to the ancient and mysterious "Lingyun Cave" hidden in the Buddha's palm as I remembered.

There is only... one hole.

A colossal, dark, and jagged cave, as if gnawed out by a giant beast, plunges straight into the depths of the mountain. The entrance is about ten zhang high and five zhang wide, irregularly elliptical in shape. The interior is pitch black; even with Nie Lingfeng's current eyesight, he can only see a few dozen meters beyond the entrance before being swallowed by pure darkness. The cave walls are no longer rock, but a strange, dark, metallic material riddled with honeycomb-like holes. Wisps of visible, dark red heat emanate from these holes, scorching and distorting the air near the entrance, bringing a hot wind mixed with sulfur, scorched earth, and an indescribable, sweet-smelling odor.

This was completely different from the entrance to Lingyun Cave that he remembered as hidden, damp, and filled with the scent of water and moss.

"Nie Lingfeng?" Chen Duo felt his hand tighten suddenly, even trembling slightly, and she looked up at him with concern. She had never seen him show such a... shocked, or rather, bewildered expression.

"No...nothing's right..." Nie Lingfeng muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the unfamiliar cave entrance, then slowly sweeping over his surroundings. There was no icy pool, no traces of his sword strikes and fist marks from his training days, no trace of the few stubborn weeds growing in the cracks of the rocks...nothing at all. Only a patch of cracked, scorched earth, baked by the intense heat, and an unsettling, deathly stillness permeating the air.

Is this really Lingyun Cave? Is it the starting point where he received the inheritance, changed his destiny, and ultimately traveled through time?

The Yin-Yang jade pendant and the Jade Heart of Yaochi on his chest were now burning hot, and the call and throbbing from the depths of his soul grew stronger, clearly pointing to that dark cave entrance. Yes, the feeling was right, this was it. But "this place" was completely unrecognizable.

The wounded, fleeing unicorn let out a howl of fear and longing as it approached the cave entrance. Without hesitation, it plunged into the darkness of the cave and vanished instantly. Only the dark red blood dripping from its wound left a glaring trail on the scorched ground, winding its way into the darkness.

Nie Lingfeng took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions. He had to go in, no matter what. Whatever the situation inside, whatever awaited him, he had to find out.

"Chen Duo," his voice regained its calmness, but a hint of seriousness lingered deep in his eyes, "stay close to me. What's inside... might be completely different from what I imagine. Remember, no matter what you see or encounter, stay calm and trust me."

"Yes, I believe you." Chen Duo nodded vigorously, her emerald eyes filled with no fear, only complete trust. With her other hand, she secretly made a hand seal, and a faint golden halo flowed around their bodies. It was the protective aura formed by the Phoenix True Fire, which could both insulate against high temperatures and warn of evil spirits.

The two exchanged a glance, then, without further hesitation, stepped side by side into the dark cave entrance that radiated an ominous heat.

Upon entering the cave, the light vanished abruptly, leaving only absolute darkness. But this posed no obstacle to Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo. Nie Lingfeng sharpened his eyes, a faint golden-red light flashing within them, as if the darkness were nothing. Chen Duo's phoenix bloodline granted her extraordinary perception, allowing her to clearly "see" the flow of energy around her even in the darkness.

The cave interior appeared wider than its entrance, sloping downwards. The ground beneath was no longer earth, but a dark, porous, metallic surface that echoed with hollow "thump-thump" sounds, reverberating eerily in the deathly silence. The cave walls were riddled with honeycomb-like holes, from which dark red heat and faint red light constantly seeped, casting a hazy, dark red glow over the cave, resembling the blood vessels and internal organs of some colossal beast.

The temperature was rising rapidly. It was bearable at the cave entrance, but less than a hundred meters in, the temperature had soared to unbearable levels; the air was scorching, each breath burning the lungs. Chen Duo's Phoenix True Fire aura shone slightly brighter, insulating her from the heat. Nie Lingfeng, protected by the Qilin bloodline and the Xuanwu True Scripture, was naturally unaffected by the high temperature, but his brow furrowed even more deeply.

There was no moisture, no stalactites, and no familiar underground river passage leading to the icy pool. There was only a metal tunnel that seemed to descend endlessly, shrouded in a dark red light.

Moreover, the spiritual energy in the air... no, it was no longer just simple spiritual energy. It was an extremely violent, scorching energy, full of destructive desire and chaotic will. This energy was frantically repelling and eroding all "normal" spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and it also made the Qilin power within Nie Lingfeng's body subtly restless, as if it had been provoked and attracted by something.

"This place... has been contaminated," Nie Lingfeng said in a deep voice, stating his judgment. It wasn't a natural change, nor a simple environmental shift, but rather that it had been "contaminated" and "transformed" at its source by some powerful, evil, and aggressive force.

Chen Duo didn't speak, but instead gripped Nie Lingfeng's hand tightly, her emerald eyes warily scanning the flickering red light in the surrounding holes. The phoenix bloodline within her instinctively repelled and loathed this chaotic and evil energy.

"roar--!"

Suddenly, a suppressed yet violent roar came from around the corner of the passageway ahead! Immediately afterward, several dark red figures, moving with lightning speed, pounced out!

It's a fire-eating beast! Similar to the unicorn monster at the cave entrance, but smaller, more like a canine, its entire body covered in fine, dark red scales. It runs on all fours, moving with incredible speed, its mouth filled with sharp, interlocking teeth, dripping with molten saliva. Its eyes are also pure blood red, filled only with a destructive desire, utterly devoid of reason.

There were seven or eight of them! They pounced out simultaneously from the holes on both sides and the passage in front, sealing off all escape routes, and with scorching air and a foul wind, they went straight for Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo!

"You're courting death!" Nie Lingfeng's eyes turned cold, and he was about to make a move.

"Let me do it!" Chen Duo took the initiative, releasing Nie Lingfeng's hand, stepping forward half a step, and forming a complex flame mark with her hands in front of her chest.

"The Phoenix True Dharma—Purifying Lotus Flower!"

"Hey——!"

A clear and melodious phoenix cry echoed through the cave! Behind Chen Duo, a huge phantom of a jade phoenix flashed by, and then she pushed her palms forward!

"boom--!"

A lotus flower, over two meters in diameter and composed entirely of pure golden flames, suddenly bloomed in front of her palm! The lotus slowly rotated, its petals unfurling, radiating a sacred, majestic, and all-purifying aura of intense heat, a stark contrast to the chaotic and evil dark red energy within the cave!

The golden fire lotus appeared to spread slowly, but in reality it spread instantly, enveloping all seven or eight fire hounds that pounced on it!

"Hiss hiss hiss—!"

A sickeningly hot burning sound and a piercing scream rang out simultaneously! The moment those ferocious firehounds came into contact with the golden fire lotus, the dark red scales on their bodies melted and vaporized rapidly, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun! The chaotic energy within their bodies clashed violently with the Phoenix True Fire, triggering a series of small explosions!

In just two or three seconds, seven or eight Flame Hounds were reduced to charred remains and drifting black smoke by the Purifying Lotus, without any chance to resist.

Chen Duo withdrew her hand, the phoenix phantom behind her fading away. She breathed a slight sigh of relief, her face pale. This move, "Purifying Lotus," was a high-level spell recorded in the inheritance of the Queen Mother of the West, specifically designed to suppress evil spirits and defilement. It was powerful, but also consumed a great deal of energy.

"Beautiful!" Nie Lingfeng praised, walked to her side, took her hand, and transferred a stream of pure and gentle Xuanwu True Scripture internal energy to help her recover quickly. "It seems that your Phoenix True Fire is the nemesis of these ghostly things."

Chen Duo nodded, feeling the warmth from her palms, her complexion improved, and she whispered, "The fire on their bodies... is dirty, it's disgusting. My fire hates them."

"Hmm, then burn them clean." Nie Lingfeng's eyes were icy. These fiery beasts were clearly monsters born from the corruption of Lingyun Cave. Their very existence was a desecration of this once sacred place (at least to him).

The two continued deeper. The further they went, the more complex the passage became, with many forks appearing. Some forks led to dead ends, while others spiraled downwards, their destinations unknown. The holes in the cave walls became increasingly dense, the heat emanating from them grew hotter, the dark red light became more blinding, and the concentration of chaotic and malevolent energy in the air continued to rise, making them feel oppressed and irritable.

Relying on the vague memories of the Lingyun Cave's internal structure that remained in his mind, combined with the keen perception of airflow and terrain brought about by the "Wind God Movement" realm, Nie Lingfeng quickly discerned the direction. Back then, in order to find the Blood Bodhi and avoid the Fire Qilin, he had almost traversed every corner of the Lingyun Cave. Although the cave's structure had been completely altered, the general direction of the earth's veins and certain special terrain features still seemed to retain some traces.

"This way." He pulled Chen Duo along, choosing a side path where the airflow was relatively "active" and there was a faint feeling of downward vortex. According to his memory, this direction should lead to the area where the Cold Pool was located back then, which is also one of the core areas deep within Lingyun Cave.

Along the way, they encountered several more waves of fire-evolving beasts. There were flying monsters that resembled giant bats, serpentine monsters that lurked in the caves and suddenly launched attacks, and rhinoceros-like monsters that were enormous and incredibly strong... There were many different kinds, but they all had the same thing in common: they were all stained with those corrupted dark red flames and had crazed blood-red eyes, and they were generally much stronger than the canine beasts at the cave entrance.

Nie Lingfeng stopped letting Chen Duo lead the attack. These monsters were numerous and their attacks were tricky; he needed to conserve Chen Duo's strength to deal with potentially greater dangers. He wielded the Snow Drinking Blade, incorporating the "Wind God's Movement" into his movement technique, his figure ghostly and elusive, weaving freely through the intricate passages and dense hordes of monsters. Each swing of the Snow Drinking Blade precisely struck the monster's vital points or energy nodes; the icy blade energy, mixed with the disintegrating power of the Three-Part Returning Origin Qi, often killed the enemy in one strike, making it extremely efficient.

Chen Duo moved alongside him, using Phoenix True Fire to provide support and finish off monsters, specifically targeting those that attacked from unexpected angles or those with exceptionally strong vitality. The two worked in perfect harmony, advancing at an extremely fast pace, leaving behind only a trail of rapidly cooling monster remains in their wake.

"Stop!" After rounding another sharp bend, Nie Lingfeng suddenly grabbed Chen Duo, signaling her to be quiet.

Ahead, the view suddenly opened up.

No longer a narrow passageway, but a gigantic, cavernous hall, as if hollowed out from a mountainside. The hall was impenetrable, exceeding a hundred meters in diameter, with a relatively flat floor, but riddled with crisscrossing grooves resembling those formed by cooled lava. In the center of the hall was a massive, bottomless pit, about thirty meters in diameter, from which scorching air currents and dark red light continuously spewed forth, illuminating the entire hall in a fiery red glow, making the temperature terrifyingly high.

Around the hall, in the shadows of the ravines and rock walls, there were countless fire-breathing beasts of all kinds! Their numbers far exceeded those encountered on the way! Some were wandering aimlessly, some were tearing and devouring each other, and some were lying quietly in the shadows, their blood-red eyes staring at the central pit, as if waiting and coveting something.

More importantly, above this hall, the cave walls were no longer the perforated, metallic structure, but rather... relatively "normal" rock. Nie Lingfeng's gaze was fixed on the opposite side of the hall, on a rock wall that was subtly guarded by numerous strange beasts and clearly showed signs of human excavation.

There was a stone gate there, about three zhang high and one zhang wide.

The stone gate was ancient and imposing, its surface covered with blurred, high-temperature-scorched relief patterns, from which one could vaguely discern cloud patterns, flames, and auspicious beast designs. The stone gate was tightly closed, but through the cracks, a faint, distinct, and seemingly timeless pale blue light emanated from it, a light completely different from the surrounding dark red glow.

"That is..." Nie Lingfeng's heart skipped a beat. The location of this stone door vaguely overlapped with the stone chamber deep within Lingyun Cave in his memory, the one that contained the "Xuanwu True Skill" stone carving and some ancient secrets...

Could it be that Lingyun Cave wasn't completely destroyed by pollution, and its core heritage site is still preserved? Is the eerie blue light behind the stone gate the original power of heritage resisting pollution? Or... is it something else entirely?

"Nie Lingfeng, look there," Chen Duo suddenly said in a low voice, pointing to the edge of the huge pit in the center.

Nie Lingfeng looked in the direction she pointed. On a protruding rock at the edge of the pit, there were several translucent, thumb-sized red fruits that shimmered with a faint red light! They grew on a strange vine that was completely charred black, as if it would turn to ashes at any moment. Amidst the endless dark red light and violent energy around them, they stubbornly emitted a pure, gentle, and life-filled spiritual light.

Blood Bodhi!

Although its form seemed to have changed and its spiritual light was much weaker, Nie Lingfeng would never mistake its unique appearance and aura! This was the Blood Bodhi, a rare treasure of heaven and earth that he had found in Lingyun Cave after risking his life to greatly enhance his power!

Even the blood bodhi seeds are still there. Although they seem to be struggling to survive, it at least proves that this polluted area is not monolithic and still retains a trace of "pure land" and "vitality".

Nie Lingfeng's eyes lit up. No matter what Lingyun Cave had become, at least there were still clues to the two things he cared about most—the possible core inheritance and the Blood Bodhi!

But the question is, how do we get there?

Looking at the hundreds upon hundreds of menacing fire beasts in the hall, especially several particularly enormous monsters with an exceptionally fierce aura and a faint aura of dominance, Nie Lingfeng knew that forcing their way in would be unwise. Even if he and Chen Duo managed to fight their way through, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses, possibly even injuries, and would alert something even more terrifying that might be lurking deeper within.

We must outsmart them.

Nie Lingfeng's eyes flashed as he quickly observed the terrain of the hall, the distribution of monsters, and the direction of the airflow... In his mind, the memories of stealth, maneuvering, and utilizing the terrain that he had learned in Lingyun Cave to avoid the Fire Qilin quickly surfaced, overlapping and analyzing with the scene before him.

"Chen Duo," he lowered his voice, a sharp glint in his eyes, "wait a moment, you'll follow my instructions. We'll get the Blood Bodhi as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then... go check out that stone gate!"

"Yes!" Chen Duo nodded, her eyes also lighting up with eager anticipation.