Shen Qiao stopped. The other party didnt advance either. They stood opposite each other, and the air between them beca rather strange.
Shen Qiao had already seen the sa kind of green-glowing eyes on the other monkey earlier, so he wasnt very surprised to see them again. He just felt a little strange. Why were there so many monkeys in such an ancient ruin which had been desolated and sealed up for many years?
Were they really able to live here for hundreds of years without any food or water?
Seeing that Shen Qiao made no moves and showed no signs of impatience, the owner of the pair of green eyes couldnt hold back anymore. The green glow flashed and then disappeared, and everything once again returned to darkness. Even the stink of blood quickly faded in the air.
Did it really leave this easily?
The stairs ran deep. As Shen Qiao groped his way through, he discovered that there were decorative patterns carved on the walls on both sides of the stairs. Apparently, this place once belonged to a bustling city. However, after Loulan annexed Ruoqiang, the country completely disappeared from historical records, together with its people and countless treasures. Perhaps Loulan took everything with them, or perhaps they just passed into oblivion. In any case, not a word about them was heard again in the ever-flowing river of history.
Shen Qiao climbed down the stairs step by step, carrying Yan Wushi on his back. The darkness reaching far out into the emptiness seed to slow each step infinitely. Yan Wushis breaths hovered next to Shen Qiaos ears, sounding a bit heavy because he was injured and was unable to repress them. The faint heat they brought, and the sound of the Grieving Celestial Sword as Shen Qiao tapped it on the ground scanning for the path all of these trivial details seed to give Shen Qiao the illusion of an endless road.
If there is no end to it, then why not stop and rest?
We wont be able to leave no matter how far we walk
Suddenly, he felt a sharp, cold sting on his nape. Yan Wushi had touched him with his hand, and it made Shen Qiao shudder involuntarily.
The place was so poorly ventilated for so long that it was inevitable for people to feel stuffy after staying here for a long ti. Their thoughts would beco sluggish, and therefore it was easy for them to feel muddle-headed as well.
Shen Qiao was too busy thinking about that monkey just now that he failed to notice this and almost fell for the sa trick.
Thanks, he said.
Yan Wushi did not reply.
Shen Qiao was used to it. The inner qi in Yan Wushis body was in disorder. The person could hardly control himself and was constantly switching between his several personalities. The current one probably didnt like to talk.
The two walked a little further. Suddenly, Shen Qiao felt that the stairs underneath him had disappeared, the walls on the sides gone as well. He was now stepping on flat ground. However, the current situation only made them more uncomfortable, because they could not guess how large this empty area was or whether there would be traps taking them by surprise from below.
A sword was approaching Shen Qiaos face soundlessly. In the darkness, even its cold body which used to shine like chilly water had lost its lustre.
But Shen Qiao had stayed in the dark for a long ti. He was used to listening to everything with his ears, and his ears were exceptionally sharp. The tip of that sword was still an inch away from his eyes, but he had already jumped off the ground and started moving backwards rapidly, holding his sword across his chest. With a loud clang of tals, the other partys tempestuous attack was completely dissolved by this simple action.
What kind of demons are you?! Tell your na!
Before Shen Qiao could speak, the other party had asked first.
Feeling slightly awkward, Shen Qiao challenged back, Then please inform of your na first.
This ti, the other person actually recognized his voice and asked, Is it Daoist Priest Shen?
And you are?
Im Chu Ping. I ca together with the lord.
Chen Gong had brought more than a dozen people with him. Besides those like Murong Qin whom Shen Qiao was already acquainted with, he had close to no interactions with the rest of the team.
Shen Qiao admitted, and then asked, Wheres Chen Gong?
Chu Ping said, Theyre in front of us. A monkey-like monster took away two of our n just now, so I thought you were Please excuse , and follow this way!
His voice still sounded a bit shaky, and he was panting as he spoke the person clearly had just finished a tough fight.
Are there any traps around this place?
Not that I know of. This place should be a terrace, and theres a turn right at the front. Lord and the others are just around the corner.
Shen Qiao followed Chu Ping and used the sound of the latters footsteps to determine the direction they were heading. A mont later, he heard soone ask, Who is it?
Chu Ping answered, Its , Patriarch Murong. Ive found Daoist Priest Shen.
Murong Qins voice sounded a little tense, Hurry up and co over!
Chu Ping beca nervous as well. Whats wrong? Did the monkey co again?
Murong Qin did not speak. Soon, they heard a light screech in the dark, and there was a small fla in his hand.
By the fire light, Shen Qiao saw that there were other people standing next to Murong Qin. But, the group seed to have decreased in number compared to when they first arrived.
After seeing that it was Shen Qiao who had co, Chen Gong looked much more relaxed. Im glad you two are safe.
What happened? Shen Qiao asked.
The storm blew away the sand that covered the deep pit, so we fell down the hole which turned out to be connected to the ancient city of Ruoqiang. However, this place is quite large. Since our n were separated by the fall, it took us so ti to bring everyone back together.
Where should we go now?
Surprisingly, Chen Gong answered each of his questions. My n did a quick scouting around just now. If I have guessed correctly, our current location is still within the original city wall. Jade cistanche grows under the ground, and therefore we must find the passage leading to the underground portion of the city and proceed further from there.
Shen Qiao said, This city has been buried by the sand for hundreds of years. Even if there once was a passage, it has probably been blocked by now. We may not even be able to find it before we run out of supplies.
Chen Gong said, You may rest assured. I happened to see a cartography sketch of Ruoqiang before I ca and have so idea of where the passage may be. Back then, the Ruoqiang people built an altar on the north side of the royal city. The passage should be right below the altar, so all we have to do right now is find that altar in the north.
He then continued, There are so monsters down here. Im sure youve seen them on your way over. Probably so kind of monkeys that live around this place. They have sharp ears and eyes and are used to living in the dark, and their speed is very much comparable to that of a martial artist. We need to be careful and not make the sa mistake again.
He wasnt just talking to Shen Qiao, but more to those subordinates accompanying him. Perhaps because they had just lost a few mbers due to so reason or another, everyone agreed in chorus right away. Then, with Murong Qin leading the way, they all followed the spark in his hand and proceeded.
Since they had more people now, everyone seed to be much more relieved, feeling that they had at least soone to depend on. Especially after Shen Qiao joined ever since they had witnessed with their own eyes in the capital city of Tuyuhun how Shen Qiao was capable of fighting against Dou Yanshan and Yu Ai by himself yet showed no sign of disadvantages, they all had already placed Shen Qiao among the first-rate martial experts in their minds.
Not many knew about Kunyes death at this ti. Once that news spread out, nobody would probably dare to look down at Shen Qiao anymore.
This was just how materialistic the pugilistic world was. Underneath the lofty ideals and noble swords laid the sa set of worldly principles the survival of the fittest and the admiration to those who were strong.
Those monkeys hidden in the dark were probably daunted by how many people they had and didnt dare to co out. So, Chen Gongs group was able to travel in peace for quite a long ti. Since Ruoqiang was only a small country even before its destruction, it was reasonable to conclude that its capital would not be very large either. The distance they had traveled should be more than enough for them to go from the south part of the city all the way north.
They all had doubts, but due to the gap between their social statuses, no one dared to question Chen Gong. Only Shen Qiao asked, How long do we still need to go?
Chen Gong was also sowhat uncertain. After all, what he saw inside the imperial palace of Qi was only a fragnt of the cartograph passed down from the Han Dynasty. We should be close now, he said.
However, as soon as he finished, soone in their group suddenly shouted in a low voice, Sixth young master is missing!
Another cry followed imdiately after, What is this?!
In order to save the fire sticks, Murong Qin was the only person in the group who had one lit. Before he was able to pass the fire stick over, soone was already fumbling in their pockets in panic, hoping to find another one to light up. But because he was too nervous, his hand trembled and the fire stick dropped right on the ground.
Murong Qin hurried over. The small fire lit up the ground, and they imdiately saw a hairy spider on the fire stick that they had just dropped. It was dark gray all over, and its body not including the legs was already close to the size of a grown mans palm. On its back were three white stripes that looked like a persons face with closed eyes. Once the spider started to move, the eyes would open, as if they were blinking.
The people had never seen anything creepy like this. They were not afraid, but all of them did feel their hair standing on end and they felt utterly nauseous.
So of them couldnt stand it anymore and swung their swords at the spider, cutting it right in half. However, more baby spiders instantly sward out of its abdon and started crawling towards their feet one after another.
Sixth young master! Its the sixth young master!
Another person lit up a fire stick. As the light flickered and hovered to the ground further away, they imdiately saw a corpse lying over there. They still recognized the clothes it was wearing, but the body was so completely dried up that the skin was wrapped tightly around its bones, looking quite grueso.
Dont let these get close to us! Murong Qin shouted in a stern voice.
He drew out his sword as he spoke, and with a few swift flashes of sword lights, he killed all the spiders that were coming towards him and Chen Gong.
But the others were not as lucky. The baby spiders moved at an extrely fast speed. They climbed up along peoples feet and trouser legs and went through every slit they could find. As soon as they touched warm human skin, they would imdiately inject venom and paralyze their prey. Those people wouldnt feel anything or even make a sound until the spiders sucked up all of their blood.
In the blink of an eye, a few more mbers fell. These people didnt know much martial arts except a few punches and kicks and they mostly only served Chen Gong as his lackeys. They had no chance of fighting back and collapsed silently just like the sixth young master of the Murong Family.
Upon seeing this, the other people were horrified. No one dared to let down their guard anymore. They all took out their weapons and started attacking those spiders. But the spiders were too small and continued to rush out from nowhere. In addition to the dim lighting and nervousness, they couldnt help but miss a few of them. As soon as they hit a big one, small ones would start crawling out of it. The number of spiders simply looked endless and impossible to defend against.
All except for where Shen Qiao was: shrouded by the sword light of the Grieving Celestial Sword, not even one spider was able to get close. He shielded Yan Wushi behind him, and the sword light tightly surrounded them, not letting a single drop of water through. It was like a silver waterfall against the darkness, so bright and dazzling that it was hard for people to look away.
The spiders tended to impose upon the weak but feared the strong. As soon as they realized that they couldnt get close to Shen Qiao, they imdiately turned around and rushed towards the others.
Chen Gong scolded his n angrily, Who told you to stab them on the abdon? Just set a fire and burn them all!
He had also kept himself busy, with one hand holding his sword and the other swinging a fire stick back and forth over the ground. The spiders feared the firelight and didnt dare to co up, so he was able to take the opportunity and burn so of them.
However, they only had a limited amount of fire sticks after all. Seeing that the spiders were still pouring forth in endless waves while he had already lost a few people on his side, Chen Gong had no choice but to order, Run straight!
Unfortunately, disaster loved company. Right at this mont, they felt a chilly gust of wind behind them, and before they could react, another person fell facedown with an awful scream.
Its the demon monkeys! Those monkeys are back! soone shouted frantically.
Caught between two fires, the people had no place to escape even if they wanted to. In extre fear, they unconsciously gathered around Murong Qin and Shen Qiao, for those two were the strongest people among the group. So far, they were still capable of handling everything with ease without a scratch.
But things werent easy for Shen Qiao either: two monkeys were pouncing on him at the sa ti. On one hand, he had to deal with the spiders in front of him, and on the other hand, he had to manage the two monkeys from behind while keeping Yan Wushi safe at the sa ti. With the three events happening together, he was simply too busy for anything else.
Just like Chen Gong said, the monkeys had stayed in the dark for too long that they had already developed night vision. They were like a bunch of cunning hunters hiding in shadows, watching with cold eyes as the people ran around in circles under the spiders besiege, waiting for the best timing to deliver the killing blow.
The clashing of weapons rang through the cave. However, many people noticed that their sword strikes, despite appearing to be able to pierce the monkeys chests easily, were either blocked by the hard skin underneath the fur or dodged by the monkeys at the last mont. After a few turns, they not only had to worry about those blood-sucking spiders but also had to deal with the monkeys with inexhaustible energy. Not long after, the entire group was exhausted from all the running about and they were more or less wounded.
The monkeys nails seed to possess a certain poison as well, for the scratches they made soon began to burn.
The monkeys are the spiders natural enemy. As soon as they appeared, the spiders retreated.
Yan Wushi suddenly spoke up. His voice sounded weak and hoarse; it no longer had the kind of arrogance it used to have before as if everything was under his control. But as soon as he spoke, it always had the power which made people unconsciously listen to him attentively.
Everyone who heard this sentence flickered for a second. In between their fighting with the monkeys, many people glanced at the ground, and sure enough, all those spiders whose re sight gave them horror were gone.
Without the spiders impeding them, everyone felt an uplift in spirits as if a load had been taken off their mind. For a mont, streams of inner qi and sword qi swept across the cave. Even those monkeys were forced to retreat a few steps.
But the peace did not last long. Along with a long hiss, which sounded like a womans wailing, suddenly tore through the darkness, the monkeys attack beca fierce again. So of them threw themselves forward even after they were wounded by other peoples inner qi as if nothing could stop them except for death.
Shen Qiao said to Yan Wushi, The monkeys must be following a leaders commands. There will be no peace until we catch it. You can stay with Murong Qin for protection for now, since I will go search for that leader and may not be able to take care of you for a while.
Yan Wushi agreed, but said nothing more.
But they werent friends in the first place nor enemies either, at least not yet. In terms of his current personality, it was different from his original one, but they were equally coldhearted. In fact, Shen Qiao would be rather surprised if the other person actually said sothing like be careful.
He watched as Yan Wushi disappeared into the protruding crevices against the wall. After making sure that the monkeys would not find him for a mont, Shen Qiao leaped up the stone wall and, using the cracks on it as landing spots, moved towards the source of the shriek. After a few ups and downs, he quickly disappeared into the darkness as well.
With a sword in one hand and his Daoist robe fluttering behind him, Shen Qiao glided across the ground without bringing up a speck of dust. He must have looked very much like an immortal if seen under broad daylight and would have attracted countless eyes. Unfortunately, in a place like this, everyone was too busy struggling to survive. Only Yan Wushi cast a aningful glance at his vanishing figure, then, instead of going to Chen Gong and Murong Qin for shelter like Shen Qiao had told him to, he walked past everyone straight into the deeper darkness.
No one noticed his disappearance, including Shen Qiao, who had been listening carefully with his eyes closed, searching for the location of the monkey leader. But it made no sound after that cry, so he could only look for it based on his previous impression.
The clashing and clinking of weapons from below grew farther and farther away. Shen Qiao held his breath and beca one with the ruins behind him as he focused on the boundless tranquility and unknown brought by the darkness.
All of a sudden, the cry sounded once again!
It was long and wistful at first, then it suddenly changed to a sharp note, sothing like a bugle or signal that made the monkey group below start attacking Chen Gong and his group frantically again.
This was the ti!
Clang
The Grieving Celestial Sword shot out of its sheath with a crisp sound similar to the cry of a phoenix nestling!
Shen Qiao tapped his feet on the ground and leaped into the darkness.
There was no place to stand, but he was able to soar through the air. The strike itself was not fancy, but it was extrely fast that its sword light almost wrapped Shen Qiaos entire body as it turned into a bright white light flashing through the sky. With a slight tinge of purple, the light shot straight towards the source of the sound!
Midway through, the sword light suddenly brightened. The monkey was not dead and must have sensed the threat. But as the leader of the monkeys, the king of this ancient ruin, it had ruled over the place for so long that when it saw soone dared to challenge its authority, the first thought it had was not to run away but to be irritated and pounce upon Shen Qiao.
Under the bright sword light, Shen Qiao finally realized that different from the rest of the monkeys, this one had the face of a man. What was even more bizarre was that on its hairy human face were a pair of green glowing eyes, gazing at Shen Qiao with bitter resentnt. A pair of sharp claws carried with it the stink of blood mixed with an inexplicable strange sll completely ignored Shen Qiaos sword light and pressed down from above with mountain-like montum!
Shen Qiao suddenly rembered what the sll was it was the sll that perated the air as the spiders died all over the ground. These monkeys had spent a long ti living underground. Without other food sources, they must have fed on the spiders and therefore gradually beca the spiders natural enemies over ti. This was why the spiders all fled as soon as the monkeys appeared.
But with so many people appearing all of a sudden, to the monkeys it was like finding a lot of extra food. They were naturally attracted and started pursuing after them relentlessly.
The monkey didnt know how powerful the sword light was. It thought its skin was as strong as iron, so it showed no fear and struck out its claws. The attack carried with it a strong wind and a fishy stink. If one were firmly hit by it, they would definitely have their brain matter splattered.
The two crossed paths: the inner qi wrapped around the sword light pierced right through the skin on the monkeys chest, and the tip of the sword was an inch into the flesh.
The monkey leader was both shocked and furious. It imdiately made a shrill cry. Upon hearing it, all of the monkeys surrounding Chen Gongs party abandoned their original target and, bouncing a few tis on the wall, turned straight to Shen Qiao!
These monkeys not only had powerful attacks and crisp movents, their skin was also hard as iron. Normal weapons couldnt even cut through it. Even the Grieving Celestial Sword could only hurt them when infused with inner qi. If they were to fight one-on-one, Shen Qiao wouldnt have any concerns. But if ten or more were to hop on him at the sa ti, it would be too much to take even for a grandmaster level martial artist like Zen Master Xueting.
He imdiately withdrew his sword and retreated. However, since Shen Qiao had injured the monkey leader, it refused to let him leave so easily. Not only did it throw itself towards Shen Qiao, it also ordered the rest of the pack to encircle him.
Seeing that all of the monkeys were lured away by Shen Qiao, Murong Qin quickly said to Chen Gong, Lord. We better hurry and leave now!
But Chen Gong refused, No. Go help him!
Murong Qin was slightly surprised, My Lord?
Chen Gong said with a frown, Were on the sa boat right now. Shen Qiao can be a lot of help to us. We should help him as much as we can!
After he finished, he carried his sword and jumped up first.
Murong Qin and the rest had no choice but to grit their teeth and follow.
However, the monkey chief had a very strong enmity towards Shen Qiao for hurting it that it could think about nothing else except for tearing this human apart. Other monkeys, under the might of their leader, were no longer in the mood to fight with Chen Gongs group. They all rushed towards Shen Qiao. In fact, the appearance of Chen Gong and his n only made them even more crazy and irritable. They were so dauntless and unstoppable that even Chen Gong carelessly got a cut on his arm so deep that one could almost see the bone underneath.
Upon seeing this, Murong Qin called out anxiously, Lord!
He was busy applying dicine on Chen Gong while the others shrank back in fear after seeing what happened.
Shen Qiao had no connections with them. Even though he was now trapped because he wanted to capture the monkey leader first, it happened to solve their crisis at the sa ti.
Murong Qin lowered his voice and said to Chen Gong, Theres no ti to lose, my lord. We need to hurry and leave now! If these demon monkeys kill Shen Qiao, theyll imdiately turn to us and it will be too late.
After a mont of silence, Chen Gong finally made his decision. Withdraw!
Before he left, he turned around and glanced for the last ti: surrounded by the monkeys frantic, spine-chilling roars, the few bands of sword light seed fierce but lonely. It was hard to say how much longer they could hold up.
Chen Gong turned back and left with Murong Qin and the others without hesitation.
Shen Qiao killed two monkeys, and he indeed started to feel tired.
After all, his martial power hadnt recovered to its full bloom yet, not to ntion that these monkeys threw themselves at the sword qi one after another as if they were out of their minds. However, the sword qi was not endless. As Shen Qiaos sword made a long cut on one of the monkeys chests, the monkeys blood splashed onto his face, imdiately hitting him with its disgusting stink. Even Shen Qiao couldnt help but pause slightly.
While the other monkeys were attacking Shen Qiao, the leader had been waiting patiently on the side for an opportunity. Now, it finally spotted its chance. With a thundering roar, it pounced on Shen Qiao and locked him in its arms while knocking him backward!
Shen Qiao was tightly embraced by it. Unable to free himself, he couldnt help but fall backwards uncontrollably. The next second, he lost his footing and fell into a deep hole.
Right at this mont, the monkey leader released him. Taking the advantage that the other monkeys were pulling it by its tail, it knocked Shen Qiao into the deep pit angrily. Then it howled loudly as if it was celebrating its victory!
Bearing Shen Qiaos weight, the Grieving Celestial Sword left a trace of sparks on the stone wall, but Shen Qiao was still unable to stop himself from falling farther. This place was like a real abyss: no one knew how long it would take to hit the bottom. Shen Qiaos arm was getting sore; every wound on him was hurting he had gotten them while fighting with the pack of monkeys, and now they were burning extrely painfully.
Shen Qiao looked down. There was a faint red glow down there. He couldnt tell what it was.
He couldnt feel his arm anymore. With montary carelessness, the Grieving Celestial Sword missed the wall and he imdiately started to drop!
But as soon as he felt himself falling, soone had already firmly grabbed him by the other arm!
Shen Qiao raised his head and saw that Yan Wushi had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. In order to catch Shen Qiao, he had extended his entire upper body over the edge.
Hold on tight! he said to Shen Qiao sternly.
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